


Shadows of the Future

by Galacticspace97



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28017114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galacticspace97/pseuds/Galacticspace97
Summary: Third Impact. Three souls catapulted back to before their journey began. All of them with a determination to change things for the better, to prevent the mistakes of the past, and the save the entire world from its demise. But acting as a shield to your past self isn't easy and history is resistant to change. SEELE and Gendo will not take kindly to alterations of their plans and will try at every turn to preserve the trajectory of their scenarios. Shinji, Kaworu, and Asuka will have to face old pains, as well as their own actions if they are to make it through. It is only together, that can be each other's light in the uncertain past.
Relationships: Ikari Shinji/Nagisa Kaworu, Ikari Shinji/Nagisa Kaworu/Souryuu Asuka Langley, Ikari Shinji/Souryuu Asuka Langley, Nagisa Kaworu/Souryuu Asuka Langley
Comments: 8
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter 1

The city was silent in the muggy air of an eternal summer. The buildings of the metropolis towered like judges as a single figure stood at a phone booth. A fourteen year old Shinji Ikari put down the green handset and nervously looked at a photo in his other hand. After a moment, the teenager raised his head and surveyed the empty street, eyes coming to rest on a seemingly empty stretch of road. A split second later his attention was pulled away by a flock of birds taking flight. Turning back, he jumped as a massive shock thundered through the vacant streets. Bringing his hands up to his ears, Shinji didn't have time to see the glint of binocular lenses on a distant rooftop.

Laying on a foam mat on the scorching rooftop, a twenty year old Shinji Ikari turned his binoculars away from his younger self and towards the end of the block. He gulped as a small fleet of gunships rounded the mountain, weapons firing into a massive dark body. The creature was tall, lumbering, with a chalky beaked mask in its center. Shinji quickly turned and reached into a bag. Sitting up, he fumbled a radio handset to his ear. 

“Sachiel, it-its here, at the end of the street, I still don’t see Misato!” Shinji tried to suppress the panic in his voice as the battle drew closer to his younger self. 

“Don’t worry.” A calm voice crackled through the speaker. “I have a visual on her car.” 

“Are you sure it’s her?” Shinji cringed as a loud burst of gunfire sailed over the angel’s head.

“A blue Renault Alpine, right?” Kaworu asked. 

“Yeah, that’s it.” Shinji breathed a sigh of relief. All those late nights of planning and documenting hadn’t been a complete waste of time. 

A crash echoed out from in the street and Shinji whipped around, binoculars in hand, just in time to see a gunship crash into the side of the building. He gulped as his younger self was thrown back, onto the pavement. 

The older Shinji was just about to call out to the child below when an eerie chorus filled the air and a wave of pink-yellow luminance washed over the city. At the center of the torrent of energy, Sachiel effortlessly lifted its gigantic bulk from the earth, and landed directly on top of the down airship, crushing it in a violent blast. 

Shinji’s eyes went wide and leapt behind a whirring fan unit as the haunting face plate scanned the rooftop. He squeezed his eyes and and tried to slow his breathing, hoping that the angel wouldn’t sense him, wouldn’t reach out with a gargantuan claw and rip up metal box, wouldn’t crush him with a fist, wouldn’t vaporize him with a- Shinji’s desperate train of thoughts was interrupted as the distinct sound of missiles rushed in, slamming into Sachiel and staggering the creature backwards. The angel turned, its attention now returning to its attackers. Shinji peeked out from behind his cover, then scrambled back to his perch, hurriedly shoving all his equipment into the bag. 

The screech of tires on asphalt pierced through the din of combat, and the brown haired man looked up to see a blue car shooting out from the cloud of smoke at the base of the building, two figures visible behind the windows. Nodding to himself, Shinji put the radio earpiece to his ear. 

“They’re out.” He said shakily. 

“Alright.” Kaworu replied. “I’m coming to get you.” 

Zipping up the bag, Shinji heaved it over his shoulder and ran towards the other edge of the rooftop, hunching low to avoid the shrapnel ricocheting off Sachiel’s vast body. As he turned to approach the roof access door, his eyes went wide and he slowed. The brick that he had used to prop open the metal door had been dislodged during the commotion and now the access was firmly sealed. 

“Nonononono!” Shinji shouted as he ran up to the door, banging on it repeatedly. An N2 mine was set to go off in a few minutes, he couldn’t be this high up when it went off. 

“SHINJI!” 

The former pilot turned to his left to see a figure rising up over the ledge of the building, arms outstretched, silver hair waving in the wind and a faint orange octagon flickering under his feet. 

“I….I thought you mean you were coming in the car!” Shinji shouted, aghast. “You’re AT field! NERV is going to detect you!” 

Kaworu shifted his gaze to the much larger angel in the distance, swatting at the attack craft with its claw. 

“They will be too focused on my brother.” Kaworu said, turning back to Shinji and gesturing. “Take my hand, we don’t have much time left.”

Shinji nodded and ran to the edge, firmly taking Kaworu’s hand in his own. He gasped as Kaworu’s grip tightened, and he felt himself being pulled off from the building and into the arms of boyfriend. There was a moment of vertigo before Shinji found his footing on the AT field, the two of them slowly descending down towards the empty street below. A wave of heat and light poured over their heads as a missile made a direct impact on Sachiel, exploding in a ball of flame. Shinji let out a gasp and huddled closer to his partner, feeling the shockwave rattle through him. 

“It’s ok.” Kaworu whispered. “I have you.” 

…………

  
  


Deep under Tokyo 3, buried beneath the gleaming skyscrapers, carefully planned network of roads, walkways, and metros of the urban sprawl was another city. A city that had been built with cutting edge technology, taken a decade to assemble, and whose construction had been the highest focus of every major government left after the second impact. It was the geofront, and situated in the very center was an obsidian pyramid with a red fig leaf emblazoned at its peak. The headquarters of the United Nations Special Organization NERV was made with as much emphasis on its aesthetics as functionality, in fact the two had been seamlessly woven together in the massive underground complex. Simultaneously a world class laboratory, weapons armory, and command station. It was this latter function that was being put into use today. 

The cavernous bridge was flooded with lights and sounds. Massive red warnings flashed on the holographic displays. On the opposite end of the enormous screen was a tall multi-tiered tower with dozens of personnel frantically clattered away on keyboards and workstations. Sitting atop above the terraces for the Magi supercomputer, higher than the technicians monitoring the systems, was a desk. Standing to the side of the desk was an old man, clad in a maroon uniform, with grey hair slicked back. And in front of him, sitting at the desk was the supreme commander of Nerv. 

Gendo Ikari silently observed the three generals in front of him with quiet satisfaction. The three men, who had so smugly taken over NERV operations earlier in the day had slowly lost all of their composure over the course of the last half hour. Their armies were useless, just as the scenario had predicted. The angel was far too powerful for conventional weaponry and every piece of ordnance they had thrown at it had no effect on the massive creature. A beep cut through the hubbub as one of the military men picked up a telephone on their desk. 

“Yes sir,” Gendo heard him say. “We’ll deploy the ordnance according to plan.” 

The commander of NERV smirked. An N2 mine was a sign of desperation, they were abandoning the more precise tactics of armor and artillery for an all out attack. On screen, the lumbering form of the angel slowly descended into a valley. The aircraft buzzing around the titan quickly vacated the area. A split second later the feed was engulfed by an enormous pillar of light. One of the generals jumped up as the view disintegrated into static. 

Gendo’s mouth twitched. A thought had probed its way into the back of his mind, his son. The pilot was needed for Unit 01, and the blast had gone off quite close to the boy’s rendezvous location. To have such a vital piece of the scenario lost so early on would be disastrous. He blinked. No, this was no time for panic, Katsuragi was a capable officer, she knew how to handle these situations. The commander of Nerv silently relaxed. If they were lucky, then that N2 mine had bought them a few hours, plenty of time for the pilot to be delivered to HQ.

…………

Shinji Ikari gunned the gas pedal as he pulled back out onto the highway. 

“We cut it pretty close there.” Kaworu observed. “It was fortunate that we were able to find that bend in the road in time. If we hadn’t put this hill between us and blast, who knows where this car would be.” 

“Probably at the bottom of the cliff.” Shinji grimly commented. 

After getting off the roof, the two had booked it to their car as fast as possible. They were just able to see Misato’s vehicle speeding away towards the central district of Tokyo 3 ahead of them. Strategically, Shinji had opted not to follow so closely behind. Although he remembered Misato had seemed quite relaxed that day, his later memories told him that she was still a trained combatant. Seeing a car following so closely, especially during a state of emergency would have instantly triggered her suspicions. 

So Shinji pulled behind, staying one bend behind on the road, never in direct line of sight. Even after the N2 mine had hit, the pair had counted fifteen minutes before continuing on their way. 

Watching the countryside speed by, Shinji glanced to his right. The mountains blocked his direct view, but he knew that not too far away, Sachiel was still standing, waiting. 

“Don’t worry.” Kaworu said gently and placed a hand on the driver’s shoulder. 

“We still have a few hours, I can feel that his AT field is not yet returned to full strength.” 

Shinji nodded in response, giving his boyfriend a slight smile, before the road dove underground into the orange light of the tunnels. 

…………

“Sir!” Gendo Ikari’s attention was pulled away from the generals by the voice of a subordinate. 

“I was going over some of the scanner data from earlier, and for a period of roughly three minutes and forty seconds, there were apparently  **two** type blue signatures from the combat zone.” The young man with glasses explained. 

“Likely a malfunction.” Fuyutsuki dismissed. 

“That's what I initially thought as well sir, but I checked every operational scanner we had, and they all agree, three minutes and forty seconds.” 

Silently, Gendo turned to his deputy. 

“A new ability from the angel?” The older man’s eyes narrowed. 

“It’s possible.” Gendo said flatly. “Save that data to the Magi for analysis and processing.” He ordered the technician. 

“Yes sir.” The young man nodded and then turned back to his keyboard. 

Methodically, Gendo walked to a small lift. 

“I will leave you in charge.” He looked at Fuyutsuki before disappearing below the floor.

…………

Shinji lowered his binoculars and craned his head back to look at the sky. In the west, across lake Ashi, the orange glow of the setting sun cast long shadows of the sky scrappers across the hills. He took a gulp of the cooler evening air. There was still no sign of Sachiel over the horizon, nor was there any movement from the large launch ports that were littered at strategic intersections across the city. 

“I’m sorry, this is difficult for you isn’t it?” Kaworu sat down next to the brown haired man, handing his boyfriend a bottle of water. Shinji took a long swig and let out a dry laugh. 

“I just hope that we haven't changed events too much by being here…” 

“All we can do now is wait and see.” Kaworu replied. “How about I take the next watch, you earned a break.” Shinji silently nodded and handed the binoculars to the silver haired angel, before standing up and stretching. Taking advantage of the evacuation, the two had been able to get onto the roof of another high rise. If all went according to plan, then when Sachiel arrived, they would be able to lend a hand in the battle as well. The end goal for this mission was to prevent Sachiel from detonating itself, but silently, they were both unsure of whether they could accomplish it. Shinji turned towards the other side of the building facing the lake and sat down. It had been five years, five long and arduous years since reality had twisted back on itself and spat them back out into the past. Sometimes, he had to convince himself that everything really did happen. The angels, Eva’s, apocalypse, third impact,  _ Asuka _ . He thought he had prepared himself, but seeing Sachiel again today? Shinji raised his hand, and clenched it into a fist to stop it from trembling. 

He turned back. Kaworu was sitting quietly, binoculars pressed to his face. 

“I remember, the day I met you, it was a lot like this.” Shinji called out. The angel’s back straightened as he glanced over his shoulders. 

“You were sitting on a statue, somewhere out there.” The former pilot continued, pointing a finger into the distance. “Although, I suppose it’s still apartment blocks right now, Unit 00 hasn’t yet…” He trailed off. 

A slight smile grew on the angel’s face. “You know,” Kaworu began, trying to smother the awkward silence. “I was actually supposed to arrive in the morning that day. SEELE had put me on a civilian flight to minimize suspicion from NERV, but they didn’t account for a bad storm over Berlin that morning, which delayed the flight for a several hours, By the time I passed through customs and was handed over to NERV, it was already near sunset.” 

“Really?” Shinji cocked an eyebrow in suspicion, his recollections of grief temporarily forgotten. “SEELE didn’t check the weather forecast?” 

Kaworu scratched his chin and looked off into the distance. “I’m sure they did, but in the grand scheme of things, they didn’t think that it would affect their scenario.”

“They were probably right about that.” Shinji said glumly. 

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Kaworu countered. “Getting delayed meant that I was given the opportunity to meet you on that beach, and you showed me how much value and beauty the lilin have made.” Shinji blushed. Even though it had been half a decade, the former third child still felt a rush of heat to his face any time his partner complimented him in such a way. 

“I...I was very happy to meet you when I did too.” He finally said. “Even though everything went to hell the next day…” 

Kaworu returned a reassuring smile. 

“Well, that's why we’re here. To give undo the past and give these younger versions of ourselves a chance at true happiness.”

Shinji nodded and took another drink of water. SEELE would definitely not have planned for this, the pilot of Unit 01 and the seventeenth angel returning from beyond Third Impact to break their scenario. Although their resources were limited, they had the element of surprise on their side and that was something they planned to keep as long as possible. Shinji turned back to say something but stopped when he saw Kaworu had stood up and had raised the binoculars again, staring due north over the hills.

“Sachiel is on the move again.” The angel announced as Shinji stood up with a concerned look on his face. The former pilot turned back to look at the lake. The last rays of the sun were just dipping behind the horizon, in the distance, the moon could already be seen rising. The angel lowered the binoculars and gave Shinji a solemn nod. Returning the gesture, Shinji went to their bag and reached in. 

…………

It took the pair fifteen minutes to finally fasten the last buckle of the harness, it took them another fifteen to set up the grappling gun and fire a hook across the street. After giving it several tugs to make sure it was secure, the seventeenth angel clipped the carabiner onto the steel cable and carefully slid himself out over the chasm. Ten more minutes passed before he made it to the other side and stepped onto the opposite roof. Shinji saw his partner tie the cable around a sturdy piece of metal before sliding back out above the street. At this distance from NERV HQ, Kaworu couldn’t risk using his AT field to levitate. The plan, as the pair had agreed upon, only allowed for one activation of Kaworu’s angelic abilities. As soon as Unit 01 had torn open Sachiel’s barrier, he was to execute a quick strike, a concentrated spearhead of energy thrust directly into the third angel’s core, shattering it. However, Kaworu had to have a clear line of sight at the target and be rather close, as such the only option was to suspend him in the middle of a street that ran perpendicular to the intersection where Sachiel’s self destruction would happen. 

The radio crackled to life as Shinji finished one last survey of the surrounding area.

“I’m in position.” His boyfriend reported. “Can you see the target?”

“Negative,” Shinji responded, “I don’t see anything bu-” The last phrase caught in his throat as a pair of twin flashes erupted from the darkened hill top. Several blocks in front of him, the ground erupted in a gigantic cruciform blast. Shinji leapt to the anchor point for the cable. A powerful shockwave thumped through the building under him as he struggled to maintain his footing. He couldn’t let Kaworu fall, not here, not now. The former pilot squeezed his eyes shut as the light and heat died down. Raising his head, Shinji breathed a sigh of relief as Kaworu returned a thumbs up from the swaying harness. The brown haired man gulped and picked up the binoculars and radio. If his memory served, Sachiel would continue on attacking that point to breach the geofront’s armor before moving into the city. Bracing for the next blast, Shinji silently prayed that for once, things would go according to  _ his _ plan. 

  
  


…………

Gendo watched with a smirk as Unit 01 shot up the launch rails on the display. It had taken some effort, but by playing on empathy, He had gotten the boy into the Eva. The hardest part was over. The events earlier had confirmed his suspicions. Yui was able to control the unit even without a power source. Now that the correct pilot had been delivered, they could not fail. Yui would not let her son die. 

The screen blinked to an external camera showing the confrontation that was about to happen. On the left side stood the angel, its dark green body blending into the night sky. The sections of pale bone were the only thing that outlined it. Facing the creature, Unit 01 had just emerged from from its launch tunnel, sleek purple armor illuminated from below

“Try to walk!” Misato called from the terrace below.

The commander of Nerv tuned out the orders of his subordinate, instead focusing intensely on the screen, the visual feed was all the information he needed. Slowly, Unit 01 detached from its cradle and slouched over. Then, after one shaky step, the massive figure toppled over onto the street. Gendo kept his composure. 

In an instant the angel was over the downed Eva, grabbing the horned helmet in its claw. Screaming poured through the speakers as the angel’s elbow spike glowed a dangerous violet and began to slam into the Eva’s face

“The armor can’t take much more!” Ritsuko shouted. 

Just as the words left her mouth, a sickening crunch pierced through the bridge. The angel’s appendage erupted from the back of the Eva’s head, carrying the entire mech into the building at the end of the street. Jets of blood shot from the pierced eye socket.

“SHINJI!” Misato cried.

…………

Shinji tightly grabbed onto the anchor point as Unit 01 crashed into the building. The cable shook, reverberating with loud twangs in the wind. 

“Kaworu, hold on!” Shinji yelled over the deep rumble of collapsing architecture. 

“I am alright!” Kaworu replied. “We just have to hold out for a little while longer!” 

The former pilot watched as the third angel lowered its arm and returned to a neutral stance. 

_ C’mon… _ Shinji hoped.  _ It happened just like the first time, you have to get up! _ The pressure in the wound was lessening, the arterial spray turning into a slow dribble down the inert face. 

_ Please, you have to get up….please Mother! _

A light suddenly flashed out from the remaining eye socket as Unit 01 roared back to life. Shinji watched in stunned silence as the massive mech picked itself up, wrenching its jaws open and filling the night with a thunderous, earthshaking roar.  _ Was that what it always looked like from the outside?  _ The former pilot stared in horror. 

Crouching down, the Eva launched itself into a somersault, landing squarely on the angel’s torso. There was a short struggle before the mech was thrown off backwards, landing with a mighty shock. Kaworu gripped his harness tight and leaned forwards. 

“Get ready!” Shinji shouted to his partner. As if on queue, Unit 01 turned back, hands outstretched and charged directly at Sachiel. There was a flare of orange light and a distinct reverberating sound. Unfazed by the newly manifested barrier, the evangelion forced its hands through the AT field, using its own energy to melt away at the angel’s protective shielding. Shinji opened his mouth to shout something, but Kaworu’s voice answered back first. 

“I know when the best moment will be! I won’t miss!” Shinji smiled a little and gave an exaggerated nod at the small figure dangling from the cable.

In the distance, a wide hole had formed in the center of the octagonal screen. Then, with a final heave, the rigid barrier was torn asunder. The Eva reached out, trying to grab the angel’s wrist-  **BANG!!**

Shinji’s hands went instinctively to his ears as an ear splitting cacophony shattered the night. For a second, it was like a supernova of light and sound had exploded less than a hundred meters away from him. There was such an extraordinary amount of power, that even the battling titans were stunned for a moment. Then as quickly as it started, it passed. The light vanished almost instantaneously and the echo faded into nothingness just as fast. For a second everything was still. 

Unit 01 moved first. Breaking the silence, its hand shot out to grab the angel’s arms, but the fist closed around thin air. Sachiel was already halfway to the ground. Limp and lifeless, shards of its shattered core fell from its chest, casting dim ruby colored reflections onto the buildings around it. Shinji didn't even feel the thud as the angel’s corpse crashed onto the street.

“YEAH!” The former pilot shouted, jumping up into the air. “KAWORU, WE- WE DID IT!” 

The figure on the cable took a deep breath and nodded back at him. Then bringing a hand up, the radio cracked to life.

“It’s done.” The seventeenth angel said, breathing heavily. 

“You…..that was amazing!” Shinji said excitedly. There was a long, silent moment as wordless feelings of relief and elation passed between the two of them. 

“We should begin post operation clean up.” Kaworu said finally. “We can’t let NERV find out we were here.” Shinji nodded in agreement. “I will untie the anchor from the other building and find my way to the ground floor.”

“Meet you at the car?” Shinji replied.

“Yes,” Kaworu answered, pulling himself across. “That sounds good.” A few seconds later, the cable went slack and Shinji reeled it back in. Across the street, the former pilot could make out his boyfriend’s silhouette waving back, then he opened a door on the roof and was gone. Reality quickly washed over Shinji. Suddenly aware of his exposed position, the man hurriedly stuffed the items into his bag and ran towards the roof access. Glancing back at the silent Eva, he projected a silent hope that his younger self was doing ok, then disappeared into the dimly lit stairwell. 

…………

“Wha-....What was that?” The single question echoed through the now silent space of the command bridge. Gendo wasn’t sure who had said it, but that wasn’t important now. Everyone, even the technicians busying at their own workstations, had turned to face the big screen. Just moments before, it seemed as if the scenario was proceeding as planned, then there had been that gigantic explosion. 

Actually, the supreme commander of NERV wasn’t sure what it was, but there had been a great flash of light and sound, then the angel had simply fallen over, dead. From the visual alone, there wasn’t any physical damage besides that inflicted on the third angel, even Unit 01 looked to be completely untouched by the blast. 

“That….That couldn’t have been the Eva… ” Ritsuko whispered. 

Gendo didn’t speak, instead, his lips had contorted into a deep scowl. It was Fuyutsuki who gave the first order.

“Pull up the scanners, is there any reading on the source of that energy?” 

A short haired woman nodded and quickly typed something into her console. Then she gasped.

“Sir! That energy was another AT field! The most powerful ever detected!” 

Murmurs went up around the room.

“Was it an angel?” The deputy commander pressed.

“Yes, type blue.” The technician replied. 

“Then it’s clear to see what we just witnessed.” Gendo announced as he sat up to his full height. “The angel was obviously initiating some type of attack which backfired, destroying its core.” 

“Sir?!” Ritsuko turned back in surprise.

“Initiate unit retrieval and clean up operations.” Gendo continued in a flat tone. “The enemy has been destroyed and the operation is over.” Fuyutsuki leaned over as Gendo re folded his hands in front of his face. 

“You don't really think that’s what happened do you?” He whispered.

“No, but we cannot let the council know that anything outside the scenario has occurred.” The supreme commander replied in a low voice. 

“They will no doubt have questions about the story of unintentional self destruction.” The older man contended.

“Then we will tell them only what we have confirmed, there is no evidence disproving my theory.” Gendo replied. “We will have to proceed with the utmost caution from here on out, either our understanding of the Eva’s and angels is inadequate, or external factors have interfered.”

“And what if it’s the latter?” Fuyutsuki asked.

“Then,” Gendo sighed out. “Everything is in jeopardy.”

Far above the commotion of NERV headquarters, helicopters, trucks, and other military vehicles began to pour out onto the streets of the city. As they swarmed around the silent Evangelion, none of them noticed the small dark sedan, with two figures in it, driving off into the night.

…………

_ “An incident of some sort occurred in the newly built Japanese city of Tokyo 3 yesterday.”  _ The television screen clicked on, illuminating the dark room. On a small bed, a figure stirred and sat up. Blinking into the gloom, they stretched slightly before standing up and walking towards a computer terminal. There was a pause as a blue eye scanned the numerous camera feeds that popped up on the monitor. After a second, they hurried to the window. There was a whirring sound as the armored panels pulled back from the thick glass, followed by the retraction of thick curtains. The eye squinted and its owner brought an arm up to shield her face from the harsh morning light. Outside, the city was busy winding up to a day just like any other. Its historic architecture looked as regal as ever in the late morning sun.

“ _ The Japanese government and the United Nations are refusing to comment on the nature of the incident as well as the involvement of the paramilitary organization NERV. The only footage we have of the area shows extensive damage on the roads and buildings.”  _ The individual turned to the television as the view flashed to a street with a large impact dent in the tarmac. It was vaguely humanoid in outline, but the proportions were off, too stretched in some places, too narrow in others.

“ _ We will keep you updated as more events unfold, but for now back t-”  _ The figure picked up a remote and turned off the screen. She stood still for a moment, thoughts spinning inside her mind. 

“So,” She finally muttered quietly. “It begins again.” Stalking quickly over to a well locked closet, she pulled out a black cap and red jacket before sliding a dark eyepatch over the left side of her face. The deadline was here, she needed to finish preparations now. Fitting the cap low over her crimson hair, the woman undid the security on her door and pushed the metal panel open. Letting the door shut and lock behind her, Asuka Langley Soryu stepped back out onto the busy streets of Berlin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New lives, new routines, new changes. As Gendo and SEELE scramble to make sense of the unexpected events of the battle with Sachiel, Asuka makes her first move.

The door knob to the darkened apartment jangled a few times before slamming open to reveal a wobbling stack of boxes. Shinji carefully shunted himself past the narrow frame and dumped the packages into a heap. He took a deep breath and surveyed his new home. A spacious room opened up in front of him furnished with a couch and television. Through an opening at the other end of the room was a kitchen and small dining area. Going by the layout, he knew that the bedrooms and bathroom branched off from the short hallway to his right. 

“How are the accommodations?” Kaworu’s voice echoed out from behind him, muffled by another stack of boxes.

“Just as we saw them.” Shinji replied. “Not too big, but...livable” 

“That’s good.” Kaworu said enthusiastically, gingerly navigating through the door and dropping his boxes right on top of Shinji’s. “There are still a few more boxes left in the car.” He continued. 

“Mhm.” Shinji said, his face turned towards the small sliding door leading out onto a balcony. Kaworu followed his boyfriend’s gaze to the window as a look of understanding dawned on him. 

“You want to make sure.” He said, half questioning, half asserting. 

“Yeah.” The former pilot replied. Slowly, Shinji walked over to the door and pulled the curtain aside. Behind the glass pane, across the street, was a much wider balcony decorated with some potted plants and a lawn chair. Shinji stared at it for a second, absorbing the external appearance of the much larger apartment, the apartment he had lived in with Misato and Asuka. 

“I….I can’t tell if anyone’s home.” Shinji said, squinting through the reflective glass. 

The two of them had tried to scope out the building since the first angel attack to confirm if the younger Shinji had moved in with Misato. Seeing him walk to school on the first day of class confirmed that their meddling hadn’t affected history too much. In addition, Sachiel’s attack had tanked the housing prices in the entire city. That, combined with post Second Impact property laws meant that they could afford the rent, even with their meager income from working at local shops.

Seeing no movement in the other apartment, Shinji eventually pulled away from the window and sighed. “Uh yeah, let’s go bring the rest of the stuff up.” 

It was evening by the time they had come finished unpacking the necessities and gotten dinner. As much as Shinji wanted to make food in their new kitchen, the lack of time meant that they had to rely on fast food for the night. Kaworu didn’t mind much, and even Shinji had to admit that it wasn’t bad, but the experience felt too similar to living in Misato’s apartment, too close to old wounds. After finishing their meal, Shinji had taken one last look across the street. The light in Misato’s apartment had come on and he could see the silhouettes milling about.

The former pilot let his shoulders relax. There was no reason to suspect that they would be in danger, but it soothed his mind to know that the past he remembered was proceeding on schedule. In contrast to the NERV’s captain of operations, The newly moved in pair had opted to keep their own lights off. The mass exodus after the Sachiel incident meant that their apartment block was mostly empty, It would do well to keep up that appearance. Another thing that helped that semblance was the sparse nature of their furnishings. What little furniture they did have was still packed up in side stacks of cardboard laying around the floor. At the end of a long day of heavy loads, neither of them was too keen on unpacking boxes and setting up the large tables they would need to plan their next move. 

Instead, the couple took one of the bed rooms, laid out their sparse sheets and snuggled up against each other. Shinji fell asleep, head resting against Kaworu’s arm.

…………

A bone white beach, red waves lapping at the sand. High above, the spray of blood across the sky had started to fade. In the distance, flesh had begun to slough off Lilith’s vacant eyed skull. Shinji stood at the end of the world and tried to stifle a whimper. It had been a long time since Asuka had left. He didn’t really keep track of time anymore, it could have been weeks, or maybe months, but on that fateful day she had simply stood up and walked away, leaving nothing but footprints behind. Shinji had mulled around on that beach for days, wandering aimlessly, surviving on the stuff carried in by the tide. Packaged food, and bottled drinks had begun appearing soon after Third Impact, the only remnants of Tokyo 3 that were light enough to float on the sea of LCL. 

Eventually his wandering took him away from the shore and when he finally began to regain some sense of self, the former pilot found himself in a tiny house, in a nameless rural village. The days passed slowly there. No one else emerged from the ocean, and nothing ever happened. The world had ended, humanity was gone. The electricity still ran and non perishable food was plentiful, but the human spark that once animated everything was no more. Standing on the edge of the beach once again, Shinji blinked. He didn’t remember making the trek across the countryside, but in the back of his mind, he knew what he had come here to do: He needed to find Asuka, she was the only one left.

He looked forward, staring intently at the waves breaking onto the pale sand. He shouldn’t be back here. Using others as an instrument to comfort himself, wasn’t that the very thing he had rejected during Third Impact? Yet here he was again, chasing after the ghost of someone he knew, just so he could dispel his loneliness. A low splashing sound echoed to his ears as a gigantic piece of flesh came loose from Lilith’s head, exposing white bone and sending up a massive wave of LCL. Shinji numbly took a seat on the sand and buried his head in his hands. Tears began to flow down his arms. Not tears of sadness, but simply tears of exhaustion. 

“Shinji!” A single call floated to him in the wind. At first, the boy didn’t pay attention to it.  _ Probably just a hallucination _ he thought. 

“Shinji, is that you?” The voice rang out again. His brow furrowed. He...He knew that voice. It wasn’t Asuka, he was sure of that, but he remembered it, he had...pleasant memories associated with that voice.

“Shinji! I’m so glad I finally found you again!” His eyes went wide. A kind smile and silver hair flashed in his mind. The former pilot bolted straight up and turned his head in the direction of the voice. Walking out of the surf was a pale, lanky figure. 

“K-KAworu?!” Shinji cried in disbelief. The figure smiled. “I’m here.” 

The former Pilot took a step and abruptly noticed the deep rumbling. His eyes darted back to sea. The wave from Lilith’s collapsing skull had become as tall as the skyscraper. A tsunami of crimson water arched overhead, its shadow racing towards them. 

“Kaworu, run!” Shinji shouted. 

“Shinji!” The figure shouted back as the shaking ground intensified. “Shinji! Wake up!” 

“Yo-..I….” Shinji didn’t comprehend what Kaworu was saying as the crest of the wave arched over head, the sun blotted out by a wall of red. “Wake up!” Kaworu cried as the wave broke over him. 

Shinji’s eyes snapped open with a start, a scream barely escaping his lips. Kaworu hovered over him, shaking his shoulder. 

“Shinji! It was a dream.” His boyfriend said, seeing the former pilot awake. “Everything will be alright.” 

Shinji didn’t protest as the angel pulled him up, letting his head rest on Kaworu’s chest. 

“You’re safe.” The silver haired angel assured him. “I won’t let anything hurt you.” 

“I..I” Shinji began to say. 

“Shhhh, you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.” His partner reassured him, gently patting his head. The two of them sat in silence for a long time as the former pilot took in several deep breaths to regain his composure.

“I- I was back on the beach.” Shinji whispered after a long pause. “You were just coming out of the sea, but there was this giant wave, and….” He trailed off. “...I thought I was going to lose you again.” 

Kaworu closed his eyes before resting his chin on Shinji’s head. “I’m not going anywhere.” He said softly. “ We will make it through this together.” Shinji nodded slowly as he listened to his partner’s heartbeat. 

“What if we can’t stop it, Third Impact I mean?” Kaworu paused for a second, thinking about a response. 

“Then we will have lived, while doing all that we could to subvert fate.” He finally answered. “And that is something the lilin are masters of.” 

Shinji let out a quiet, dry laugh.

“I thought you were going to say something like, we would get another chance.” 

Kaworu replied with a louder giggle of his own. “Well, that certainly is a possibility, I do not know how Third Impact will play out a second time, if it does.” 

Shinji nodded and pulled his legs up. 

“Do not worry about that now.” Kaworu continued. “We can discuss that in the morning, right now you are here with me.” 

The former pilot let a smile slowly spread across his face. 

“I’m here with you.” He repeated as the two of them drifted off to sleep again.

…………

Somewhere deep inside the labyrinth of NERV Headquarters, there was a dark room with a long table placed at its center. At one end, illuminated by a dim white light, Gendo Ikari sat motionless, his face completely unreadable underneath his glasses. There were several other men in the room with him, each of them cast in a differently tinted glow. 

“Ikari.” The figure cast in blue said, “You have quite a lot of explaining to do.” 

“What is there to explain?” Gendo answered without moving. “The council has access to all the combat data, you will find that everything matches up.” 

“This account of the angel accidentally self destructing, it seems quite unlikely, no?” The figure bathed in the yellow light said. “The manifestation of such a powerful AT field, this was not foretold in the dead sea scrolls.” 

“Furthermore,” The figure in green interjected. “There was the confirmed manifestation of a second AT field several hours before Unit 01 was brought online.” 

“Though these might be small deviations, any changes to the scenario this early on could result in a completely unacceptable outcome.” Chairman Keel added. “Although the first angel has been neutralized with minimal casualties, these anomalies are not to be ignored.” 

“There have been no modifications to the Evangelion units.” Gendo said plainly. “There is no evidence that Unit 01 was the cause of the manifestation of either AT field” 

“What about the possibility of a second angel?” The red tinted man interjected. 

Gendo’s scowl deepened, but his hands remained folded in front of his face. 

“I’m not sure what you mean.” The NERV commander replied cautiously. “As of the current moment only three angels have been encountered, there have been no outside forces attempting to breach terminal dogma in the weeks since.” 

“I see.” The council member replied. 

“I assure you,” Gendo continued, “That the Human Instrumentality Project is progressing on time, we have met every deadline so far without fail.” 

“Make sure it remains that way.” Keel asserted. “Report any further anomalies immediately. The council will continue this meeting without you.” 

With that the multicolored lights faded and Gendo was left alone. The commander held his pose for a few seconds after the lights dimmed, only putting his arms down when Fuyutsuki approached out of the darkness behind him.

“The council is hiding something.” Gendo declared to his subordinate without looking back.

“That’s nothing new.” The former professor replied. 

“Something about the angels.” Gendo clarified. “The old men mentioned the possibility of a second angel creating the AT anomaly.” 

“But there was no angel detected afterwards.” Fuyutsuki replied.

“Exactly.” Gendo paused for a second. “SEELE must know of an angel that can both generate an AT field that powerful, as well as conceal its signature for an extended period of time.”

“Not to mention having the strategic knowledge to know when to retreat.” Fuyutsuki added. “But why would it attack another of its own kind?” 

“Competition.” The supreme commander speculated. “Perhaps each angel is working to enact its own version of Third Impact.”

“But with SEELE still keeping so much of their designs hidden from us, we cannot know for certain.” Fuyutsuki commented. 

“Indeed” Gendo nodded. “As for now, increase the sensitivity on all pattern scanners. We will continue with SEELE’s scenario for the time being.” With that, the bearded man stood up, turned around, and walked past his deputy into the shadows. 

…………

The members of the Human Instrumentality Council stared at each other. 

“This is catastrophe!” The one sitting in blue light cried. “The secret dead sea scrolls, invalidated?” 

“Let us not be too hasty.” said the man illuminated by the yellow glow. “The incident could have been the result of an already damaged core being stressed too much. After all, the AT mine was a direct hit.”

“Not likely.” The green one contested. “Ikari’s story is nothing but a sham. We all saw the numbers, no entity alive is capable of generating such a powerful AT field, save one.” 

The conference fell silent as the implication of his statement sank in. 

“Impossible!” The red figure spat. “Tabris is still in our custody! There is no possibility that the seventeenth angel was responsible for that anomaly!”

“There is no other explanation.” The green one contested. “The boy is the only one that could know of and prevent the events as foretold.” 

“Quiet!” Chairman Keel slammed a fist on his desk. “We will need to begin an investigation into these events immediately. Firstly, we will need to reevaluate Tabris, make sure that the angel is still as controlled as we believe. Then, I want all of the Magi’s records on Unit 01 thoroughly searched for any unplanned modifications.”

“For what purpose?” the blue tinged man asked.

“At the moment,” Keel replied. “There are three possible culprits. If this is the doing of Ikari or the seventeenth, then we will activate those contingencies. However, if this is the work of an unknown party.” He slowly surveyed the room. “Then we will need to find and exterminate them as quickly as possible.” 

…………

Asuka despised the sun on a day like this. Despite living in a post second impact world for her entire life, the redhead had never quite gotten used to the heat of an endless summer. If it was up to her, she would have worn something more breathable. But Berlin was the seat of SEELE, and she couldn’t take any risk of being recognized. Asuka looked down at herself. She had purposefully chosen this outfit to be as different from her old fashion sense as possible. The younger version of her would never have worn a black cap, nor a jacket like this one. She had chosen baggy pants and a plain T- shirt instead of a dress, both as a disguise, and for the utility it offered in hiding weapons. Finally, on her feet were a pair of black combat boots, tightly laced and shined perfectly. Normally she would be taking this route to work, but today was different. Today she had a request to file. 

Asuka’s mind wandered back to events of Third Impact as she rounded the familiar corner. Relief had been the first thing she felt after being transported back to 2010, relief that she had somehow escaped from a fate of total isolation and despair, relief that there were suddenly people around her again. But that relief had quickly turned to anxiety. Reality had been broken by Third Impact and in all likelihood, it was going to happen again. A younger version of herself might have stormed directly into the headquarters of Euro-NERV, demanding that they put her in Unit 02 immediately. But this version of herself had been through the horrors of the angels and Third Impact. She knew what kind of danger charging in head first could bring. 

A bolt of phantom pain shot through her covered eye socket and the redhead grit her teeth. The memories flashed in front of her face: Zeruel, Arael, the mass production Evas. Despite all the damage that Unit 01 and Unit 00 had taken, Asuka had realized that in all their missions, she was often the preventable casualty, struck down or incapacitated due to her own need to prove her superiority. So it was there, standing on a sidewalk, five years ago, wearing scavenged clothes from a time that no longer existed, that Asuka swore to never make that same mistake again. From here on out, she would not walk into anything unprepared again. 

The first order of business would be to find a place to live and get a job. After thinking about it for a while, she ruled out going to NERV or SEELE. If the younger version of herself still existed, SEELE would immediately be alerted, and she would probably be locked up and interrogated. Although she had been thrown back in time with nothing more than the clothes on her back, Asuka still possessed one thing few fifteen year old's did: a college education. 

The man-made catastrophes that followed Second Impact had affected every country around the world, and even though SEELE made sure that the seat of their power would remain intact, Germany had still experienced its fair share of hardships and death in the first few years of the new millennium. When society eventually began to rebuild, engineers, scientists, and doctors were suddenly found to be in short supply. As a result, large scale training academies had been set up throughout the late 2000’s, where any teenager could take an entrance exam, and be sent to a program that needed their abilities. Asuka had heard of these academies during her childhood, but her own education had been carefully guided by the invisible hand of SEELE, and as such, she never saw them first hand. 

The requirements for taking the exam were purposefully set very low. Given the civil unrest that had characterized the early 2000’s, many children of her apparent age did not possess identification or records of any kind. She managed to get in using a fake name, and the address of a local teen shelter. It didn’t come as a surprise to her when she scored number one in her batch of over a two hundred fifty test takers, that was the easy part. The hard part was interviewing for a spot in the metaphysical biology department at a University. Despite several new institutions of higher learning being founded in the wake of Second Impact, the graduate program she had applied to was much more selective than the academies for general training, and even though further tests only boosted her qualification, A bad interview could still remove her from consideration. 

Asuka remembered swallowing her pride as the interviewer, an old man with watery eyes, asked her about the field of study, what she knew of it, her experiences previously. Amazingly, she had answered almost every question humbly and without letting her annoyance show.  _ Arrogance was a weakness _ she told herself. She had to learn to let it go. Thankfully, they accepted her, even awarding her a scholarship. By supplementing that with working at an on campus lab, she was able to make it through the equivalent of a doctorate in a little less than four years. After that, Asuka had laid low, settling down as a researcher in the same institution, buying a small property on an unassuming street, and fortifying her new residence with every security measure imaginable. It never hurt to be too cautious, especially when one was deep in enemy territory. 

Her reminiscing ended as the redhead made one final turn onto a side street and walked through the gates into the small campus where she worked. All around her, the tightly packed buildings of the city gave way to an open, airy quadrangle. The metaphysical biology laboratory was housed inside an imposing building of steel and glass to her left. However, instead of walking towards the shining facade of polished chrome, she went straight past it and into the administrative building for the College of Applied Sciences. 

Passing through the outer door, she pulled out an ID card printed with the name “Amalia Richter”, the same name she had used to take the exam all those years ago. Swiping the plastic rectangle through the card reader, Asuka planted her hand on the glass pushed on into the building itself. Briskly walking through the halls, the redhead took a left and walked up a set of stairs before reaching the office she had been looking for. She paused in front of the wooden door and took a stack of papers out of the bag she had been carrying. The request forms for a research abroad project. Taking a deep breath, Asuka turned the handle and walked in. 

…………

“A collaboration with NERV? For a single project?” A department official asked incredulously. Asuka nodded. “Doctor Richter, you do realize that NERV is a highly secretive paramilitary organization that has most of its material classified.” He continued. “Even if they agreed to some kind of cooperative study, isn't setting up an entire collaborative endeavor for a single project on the niche subject of psychological contamination a bit of a waste?” 

Asuka bit back a stream of insults. Her uncovered eyelid twitched.  _ Niche subject?! _ She wanted to scream.  _ That “niche subject” nearly killed me! It put me in a coma for weeks, split my arm in half and cost me this eye!”  _ But she didn’t, only letting out a loud exhale. 

“NERV is a special organization, under the oversight of the United Nations.” She began. “As a research body under the UN, they are obligated to consider requests for research projects with institutions from any country in the world. In addition, my past papers on psychological contamination have yielded many results, and are among the most cited works in the entire field of metaphysical biology.” She paused, making sure her voice was still level and polite. “I believe that given the progress the field has made overall, and NERV in particular, delaying or rejecting this proposal would constitute a massive opportunity loss.” She pulled a stapled packet out from the stack of papers and handed it to the man sitting across from her. Silence hung in the room as he turned back to his computer and combed through the faculty directory. Finally, he turned back. 

“Very well Doctor Richter, we will try to get in contact with Euro NERV to see what we can-” 

“No.” Asuka held up a hand to interrupt him. “I want to conduct this research at NERV’s global headquarters, in Tokyo 3.” 

The department official’s eyebrow scrunched up. “Wh..what reasons are there to travel halfway across the world to conduct this.” 

“I would like to do some preliminary inquiry with some old acquaintances who are now employed at NERV.” She spoke carefully. “There will be a United Nations naval convoy leaving Germany in about five weeks, I would like to petition for a cabin as a consultant researcher on the aircraft carrier  _ Over the Rainbow _ .”

…………

Shinji stood at his job, staring at the shelves of fully stocked packaged food. The task of restocking the shelves was supposed to take half an hour, but he had taken almost fifty minutes. He couldn’t concentrate today, if history still progressed the same, then today would be the day of Shamshel’s attack. He looked down at the last bag of chips in his hand, his mind wondering about how his younger self was doing.  _ Probably getting socked in the face by Toji.  _ He thought. Then he blinked in realization.  _ No, he and Kaworu had brought down Sachiel before the worst of the battle, Suzuhara’s sister might have escaped being injured at all!  _ He let a slight smile spread across his face. Their mission was already paying off! Maybe they had already set things on track to a better course of events, the terrible outcomes he feared may not come to pass after all! His younger self wouldn’t run away so many times, wouldn't make so many mistakes, wouldn't-

“IKARI!” His manager’s shout cut through his hopeful fantasy. “It’s been almost an hour! Are you done yet?” 

“Yeah! I’m finished!” He called, hurriedly stuffing the chip bag into place.

“Good, because I need you t-” His manager started before the sirens outside began to blare. 

“This is a state of emergency.” The announcement declared. “All citizens are to report to their designated shelters immediately, this is not a drill.” 

“I’m heading to the shelter!” Shinji called as he took off towards the exit of the store. “Stay safe!” With a heave, the former pilot pushed open the door to the small shop and bolted out into the street before his boss could protest. 

Shinji struggled forward as he pushed past the crowds of people hurrying towards the shelter entrances. In the distance, some of the larger skyscrapers were already being retracted underground. All around him, streets were being blocked off by pop up barriers. Thoughts ran in Shinji’s mind as he stepped off the sidewalk and onto the street. He had no intentions of going to the shelter. The city map raced through his head, evacuation routes that he and Kaworu had spent hours pouring over, roads and streets traced over with multi-colored markers. Going by that and standard government lockdown procedures, he only had five minutes to get into the next ward, or else he would be sealed in by the barricades. 

He barely made it, Shinji had just crossed through the deserted intersection before the hiss of pneumatic pistons filled the air behind him. A five meter high wall of steel shot up, sealing off the section of the city from those around it. Panting, the brown haired man pulled his phone from his pocket. Kaworu picked up on the second beep. 

“I made it.” Shinji said, breathlessly. “Where are you?” 

“I'm approximately five blocks from your location.” The angel replied.

“Good,” Shinji nodded, looking around to make sure he was alone. “Meet me at the entrance to the Geofront, we’re getting into NERV HQ.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter, while there is some stuff here about what took place between third impact and now (5 years subjectively for our trio), I will probably be adding some extra context in future chapters.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every pebble thrown into a pond will leave a ripple, no matter how small. Despite Shinji and Kaworu's best efforts, their presence alters the past. Now, the history they knew is slowly unraveling as events take on new shapes. Asuka prepares for her most ambitious undertaking, and in the Geofront Rei Ayanami's life is changed forever.

The fighting had already started by the time Shinji made it into the subway system. Ear splitting bursts of Unit 01’s pallet rifle erupted as he ran down the stairs, leaping over the turnstiles and into the bowels of the transportation network. It was four more turns and about 50 meters deeper when he finally came to the familiar shuttered entrance. Angry red warning lights blinked above the door, crimson arrows pointing towards the nearest shelter entrance flashed. 

“Shinji! You made it!” The former pilot turned to see Kaworu making it down the last few steps 

“This is it.” Shinji declared. “During combat operations against the angels, all guards will be positioned further down, inside NERV HQ, so we shouldn’t be intercepted on our way down.”

Kaworu nodded and stepped forwards. Placing a hand above the card reader, he paused. “After I open this door, we won’t have much time to search through NERV’s files.”

“I know,” Shinji replied. “But we need to know how much NERV’s plan has changed, if us being here has pushed their schedule up or anything.”

The angel gave a silent nod and opened his palm. there was a small flash of orange light and a green confirmation sign beeped. The shutter on the gate in front of them retracted to reveal a dimly lit corridor, sloping down into the depths. The pair looked at each other hesitantly, then sprinted through the gate into the tunnel below.

………..

Deep inside central dogma, a sensor flashed.

“Sir!” Hyuga reported. “One of the newly installed pattern sensors just picked up a reading, near the 12C entrance!” 

Fuyutsuki rolled his shoulders up. “What does the Magi say?” 

“It’s type orange.” The technician answered. “The 12C entrance gates have also been opened!” 

The deputy commander’s brow furrowed. It was just as Ikari had predicted, the AT field anomaly had returned. Those new scanners had paid off after all. He looked down at Misato, who was still busy directing the battle against the fourth angel. On screen, a building collapsed as Unit 01 jumped through it, quickly pursued by the cephalopod-like creature. The former professor turned back to Hyuga.

“Is Unit 00 on standby?” He asked. 

“Yes sir, just as you directed.”

“Then launch.” 

A gasp went up around the room as several heads turned to face him. 

“Rei is in no condition to fight!” Ritsuko protested. 

“Not to the surface, into the Geofront.” Fuyutsuki clarified.

“What, why?” Ritsuko pressed.

“Because, we may be facing two enemies at once.” 

………..

The trolley car slowly descended towards the floor of the Geofront. Shinji took a deep breath as the sparkling reflections of the underground lake came into view. There had been no response from NERV so far, and it was unlikely that they had been detected. With a little bit of luck, they would be able to discreetly enter the pyramid without NERV realizing anything was wrong. 

“Umm.” Shinji heard Kaworu make a small noise and turned. The angel was gripping the side of the cable car door with one hand and had his other palm wrapped around his forehead. 

“Kaworu!” Shinji cried. “What’s wrong?!” 

“Lilith.” Kaworu said quietly. “She is stronger than I anticipated.” 

Shinji’s face twisted into a mess of concern. When Kaworu had come back from the sea of LCL, he had returned with a body made from Lilith’s blood. After being sent back through time, Kaworu had never mentioned any strange feelings despite living near the Geofront for five years. Shinji had thought that his partner was now free from the darker aspects of his nature, but it was clear that things were not so cut and dry.

“It...I’m alright.” Kaworu said, steadying himself. Shinji put his hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “We don’t have to go through with this.” He said. “NERV probably hasn’t changed much about the scenario, we should-”

Kaworu held up his hand. “No, there is something I need to confirm too, Lilith’s influence will not distract me.” Shinji didn’t take his hand off of his partner.

“What do you need to know, maybe we could look elsewhere for it?”

“I need to know when the UN naval convoy departs Germany.” The angel said. Shinji continued staring with a look of confusion. “The convoy that is transporting Unit 02 and Asuka.” 

The brown haired man’s eyes lit up in understanding. 

“That’s not for another month at least,” Shinji said. “I don't see why that’s important enough to-” 

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as the cable car suddenly lurched to a halt. Shinji felt a shard of ice stab at his heart.  _ They know! _ His mind shouted.  _ Father knows!  _

“Unknown intruder, identify yourself.” Shinji recognized Fuyutsuki’s voice. “If you remain silent we will treat you as an enemy and open fire.” Shinji peaked over the window ledge. On the forested landscape below, a rectangular launch panel had opened. There was a flash of orange and Unit 00 stepped out into the Geofront. Shinji swiveled back to his partner, a panicked look plastered on his face. 

“If you are human, identify yourself, and you will be treated humanely.” The deputy commander repeated. 

Shinji’s thoughts spun. He certainly didn't want to be blown up by a missile barrage, but surrendering and being captured might be even worse. If NERV realized who they were, they would certainly kill Kaworu and force the truth out of Shinji himself, and after that… Shinji pushed the thought aside in his already panicking brain. He didn't want to think about the consequences of his father or SEELE finding out about the future. 

“This is your last warning, if you are human, you will not be harmed! Otherwise we will be forced to destroy the car! You have ten seconds!” Kaworu glanced around and locked eyes with Shinji. Then he opened his arms and gestured for an embrace. Shinji’s eyes narrowed and then went wide. Getting up into a crouch, he dashed over and tightly wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. 

“5...4...3...2...1...0!” Shinji heard Fuyutsuki count down over the speakers. He squeezed his eyes shut as the old man reached 1 and a myriad of orange octagons unfolded around them. 

………..

“The cable car has manifested an AT field!” Maya called out. 

“Fire all defenses!” The deputy commander shouted.

A volley of missiles and gunfire filled the Geofront, converging onto the cable car in a huge luminous fireball. 

“Status of the target!” Fuyutsuki shouted. 

“Descending, AT field is still active.” Maya replied.

“Rei! Engage it with your rifle!” Misato ordered. On screen, the orange Eva shouldered its weapon and fired into the burning wreckage. The operations commander turned to Hyuga. 

“What is the status of Shinji and Unit 01?” She asked. 

“The fourth angel has been neutralized, but Unit 01 is out of power and has sustained damage, Shinji also has his classmates in the entry plug with him.” 

“Recover Unit 01 and extract the other children from the entry plug, then get Shinji to rendezvous with Rei in the Geofront.” The purple haired woman switched back to Rei’s channel. 

“Rei, the current plan is to prevent the enemy from breaching Central Dogma, retreat to the pyramid and take up a defensive position.” 

“Roger.” The first child replied. 

“All of this when Commander Ikari is away.” Fuyutsuki mumbled. “This has officially gone off the scenario.” 

………..

Shinji slowly opened his eyes as he felt their descent slow to a halt. The burning hulk of the cable car surrounded them, while smaller pieces of shrapnel continued to fall from the sky. They had ended up in the forest surrounding the pyramid. Shinji looked at his boyfriend. 

“We need to abort the mission!” He cried over the sound of continued rocket fire. 

“Agreed!” Kaworu nodded, scanning the surroundings. “There!” He pointed a finger at several distant structures on the other side of the black pyramid. “There should be an unused exit to the surface at the other end of the geofront.”

“Wait!” Shinji protested. “That’s 3 kilometers of open ground! If we try to go through there without cover, NERV is going to see who we are!” 

“No, this is a total isolation field, a perfect one way barrier for light.” Kaworu pressed a hand against the innermost octagon. “From the outside, all they will see is an opaque orange shape.” 

“Ok,” Shinji nodded in understanding. “Then let’s get out of here as fast as possible.” 

The protective cocoon of light lifted up and shifted forward, breaking out of the treeline and onto a grassy expanse. Shinji swayed unsteadily, getting to his feet. It was disorientating to stand on a transparent surface while watching the ground race past beneath you. 

Suddenly a loud bang shot through the interior of the AT field. The former pilot winced. Turning, he saw that Unit 00 had brought its rifle out and was taking aim at them.

He instinctively shut his eyes as the orange titan fired off another burst, several of the battleship caliber projectiles sailing over their head and blasting giant craters in the landscape around them. There was a bright yellow flash as another round ricocheted off Kaworu’s barrier.

“We’re getting close!” The angel shouted, the monolithic shape of NERV HQ rising up to meet them. 

“Go left!” Shinji yelled back, above the sound of cannon fire. “If we go over the water, we can put the headquarters between us and Unit 00!” 

Kaowru gave a slight nod and the former pilot felt himself being thrown against the back of the AT field cocoon as their energy capsule took a sharp left. Below, the green of vegetation was suddenly replaced by a sparkling blue. 

Unit 00 shifted, climbing onto the pyramid itself as the pair approached. The shockwaves and cratering impacts were instantly replaced by splashes as the volleys from the pallet rifle and autocannons fell into the HQ reservoir. Shinji watched the reflective surface of the pyramid eclipsed Unit 00’s hulking body. The heaviest of the incoming fire dropped off as the Eva’s line of sight was occluded. 

“How are you doing?” Shinji asked his partner. “Is Lilith still..” He trailed off.

“I will be fine.” Kaworu replied as he shifted their trajectory, leaving a trail of mist behind them. The pair seamlessly crossed back over onto solid ground, the NERV HQ pyramid receding quickly behind them. Shinji narrowed his eyes and craned his neck, desperately trying to see Unit 00. But there was nothing, no orange armor, no pallet rifle shots. 

“Kaworu, I don’t see Unit 00! It’s go-” His sentence was interrupted by a massive shockwave throwing their energy capsule into the air. Gravity seemed to disappear for a split second before they slammed back down onto the ruined earth. Shinji screamed, partially in surprise and partially in pain as the ground stopped shaking. Then, a dark shadow fell over them. Unit 00’s right hand closed around the small orange orb as it brought up a progressive knife in the left. Kaworu was on his feet before Shinji had even processed his surroundings, the angel extended both his arms and slammed his palms onto the AT field, the orange flaring brightly. 

“She’s corroding the barrier!” 

Shinji’s eyes went wide. Past the dozens of octagons, he could see the outermost layer dissolving under the Eva’s grasp. Another violent shockwave jolted through their shielding as Rei stabbed her knife at them, the megahertz blade ricocheting off the shield. 

“Push her aside!” Shinji yelled. Kaworu shook his head.

“It...It’s Lilith.” the former pilot blinked in confusion. 

“Ayanami is Lilith.” Kaworu explained in a strained voice. Above them another layer of the AT field melted away. The knife came down again, shaking the barrier violently.

“Ah-!” 

Shinji leapt to his partner, stabilizing Kaworu as he cried out under the shock. 

“The part of her inside the Eva is reacting to my presence, its AT field is increasing in strength to match mine.” The silver haired angel quickly said under labored breathing. 

“What can we do?!” Shinji cried. 

“There’s one last thing I can try.” Kaworu answered. “Ayanami is exposing her soul to use her AT field against mine, her ego barrier is at its weakest right now.” 

“Mental contact…” Shinji whispered. 

“Yes, It will only be for a few seconds and will not cause permanent damage, but it… it will be disturbing.” 

Shinji pursed his lips. Their plan had fully gone off the rails at this point. Unit 00 was mere moments away from breaching the phase space and turning them into fine red mist. He didn't want to hurt Rei, but it was them or her. 

“Do it.” Shinji said quietly. Kaworu managed a pained nod and squeezed his eyes shut. Above them another octagonal layer vanished into thin air. Unit 00 raised its knife for another strike. Shinji looked away. 

The reverberating shockwave never came. Instead a deep unearthly groan rumbled from above. The former pilot swiveled his head. Unit 00 had let them go, its knife dropped into the soil. Instead the mech was arching its back, clutching its cycloptic head with both hands

Shinji’s mouth slowly opened in horror. Rei’s Eva fell to its knees, head thrashing in distress. The groan was now a primal roar of fear, echoing off the vast interior of the Geofront in an eerie sequence of overlapping cries. Then it keeled over, shaking the earth. He saw a large plume of dust begin to rise up, the limbs of the Evangelion still spasming in the distance, and then they were gone, speeding away from the battlefield and towards the sparse building complex at the edge of the vast dome. Shinji didn’t break his gaze as the forest enclosed them again, nor did he turn his eyes when Unit 01 emerged and pinned the still-writhing-body of unit 00 into the dirt until the entry plug ejected. He didn't even react as their energy capsule plowed through a building, blasting through the elevator doors and rocketing up the empty shaft into the gloom.

………..

The entire bridge was silent as the AT field signature of the intruder reached the surface and vanished. 

“Status of Unit 00 and its pilot?” Fuyutsuki finally asked.

“Rei’s vitals are stable, but her psychograph is all over the place!” Maya reported. 

“Get her to the med bay as quickly as possible!” Ritsuko shouted. “Keep her under surveillance until we can confirm whether or not she’s been mentally contaminated.”

“Retrieval teams are already on their way!” Aoba reported. 

“Miss Misato!” The voice of Unit 01’s pilot shouted over the comms. “Rei’s not moving!” 

“She’s ok Shinji.” Misato replied. “Just unconconscious, stand by, we’re coming to get her.”

The deputy commander gripped the edge of the desk tighter. This was a disaster. Things were not supposed to go this far, this early. Fuyutsuki knew that in the long game, some pieces would have to be sacrificed, but now? They had now confirmed that there was a rogue angel somewhere in Tokyo 3, one that had effortlessly incapacitated an Evangelion at point balnk range, an angel that was small enough to fit into a cable car, one that knew when to retreat and to attack while they were distracted. He shivered. The Evangelions were supposed to be their ace in the hole against the angels, but here was one outside of even their capabilities to deal with, To think that it could also become undetectable....

“Unit 00 was unable to neutralize its AT field even at that range.” Ritsuko said quietly. “Even the prog knife wasn’t able to damage it.” 

Fuyutsuki’s mind raced. What about the scenario? The council knew about the angel, that's what Gendo had surmised from his last meeting with SEELE. But if they knew, why would they withhold that information? If this was an angel that was more dangerous than any other, why would the council let it attack a defenseless Geofront? Surely Instrumentality required that the human race actually be alive to experience it…..right? Fuyutsuki’s blood ran cold. What if SEELE was in league with this angel...were they just testing NERV’s defenses, or did they actually want it to succeed in making contact with Lilith? The latter seemed unthinkable, but most of the scenario null and void, he didn’t know anymore. He felt almost as in the dark as he was right after the second impact, barely glimpsing the shadow of SEELE and the larger plans at work. Was that still happening? After all these years, was he still ignorant to wider forces at play? The deputy commander shook his head and pushed the thoughts aside. Now was not the time to entertain nightmare fantasies. He had to make sure the situation was under control. 

“Get both Evas inside as fast as possible.” He ordered. “Keep Unit 00 restrained in Bakelite until Rei is cleared.” 

“Yes sir.” Aoba answered. 

“And, I want all data of the battle offloaded onto a disconnected server and wiped from the Magi.” 

Ritsuko turned to him in shock “Sir?” 

The deputy commander’s face hardened. “As of right now, the Geofront is under siege. We cannot let any information fall into the wrong hands.” 

………..

Shinji nearly fell over as the AT field vanished, suddenly jolted from his stupor, he didn't have time to react as Kaworu gripped his forearm and pulled him into the deserted lobby of a nearby building. It wasn't until they had hid inside an empty janitorial closet that Shinji realized he was hyperventilating. 

“Shinji, Shinji!” Kaworu’s voice sounded so far away. “Shinji! Are you alright, are you hurt?” The brown haired man blinked as the entire world seemed to sharpen around him. 

“Y…” He croaked out. “Yo-You said it wouldn’t hurt Rei….”

Kaworu paused for a moment.

“It didn’t,” He said quietly. “I only showed her a series of memories from her own mind, it would have felt strange and the imagery may have been unsettling, but she is going to be alright.” 

“She screamed…” Shinji continued. “The way her Eva screamed….” 

“Rei’s soul is still divided in half, with part of her acting as Unit 00’s control system, there may have been a feedback loop of-” the angel began. 

“Stop!” Shinji said, voice suddenly raised. “I don't want an explanation!” The former pilot raised his head to look at his partner, the dim light of the closet revealing tears in his dark blue eyes. 

“I...I just need you to promise me something.” He said, voice breaking. “Please don’t ever do that to someone else again.” 

Kaworu pursed his lips and pulled his boyfriend into a tight hug. 

“Of course.” He said solemnly. “Never again.” 

Shinji answered with a series of stifled sobs as Kaworu planted a gentle kiss on his forehead.

………..

A heavy door opened and a single figure stalked in. There was a thump as a work bag was dropped to the floor. The door closed and the ceiling lights flickered on. Asuka let out a sigh and walked over to a control panel mounted on the wall. Typing a long code into the keypad, she pressed the glowing green button and then listened as the armor panels slid over the doors and windows of her house. The redhead finally let her shoulders relax when the small screen beeped an all clear. The day’s work had not been especially difficult, but just as she was about to leave, the department had called, telling her that NERV had approved of her working on a collaborative research project with their global headquarters in Japan. 

This news had immediately set Asuka on edge. Yes, she wanted her petition to be approved, but this speed was suspicious. It had barely been 48 hours since she went to the department, the paperwork would have barely been entered into their systems, let alone reviewed. Hanging up her jacket, the former pilot sat down at her desk and put a hand over her covered eye. It was possible that this was a trap, but how would they have known? She had just appeared on the streets of Berlin 5 years ago, from the future. There literally wasn’t any paperwork trail to uncover. They might have discovered her true identity, but if that were the case, then SEELE would have snatched her from the laboratory this afternoon without any notice. The council had entire nations wrapped around their finger, it wouldn’t have been hard to fabricate a story about her doing research on dangerous, or classified topics, especially since so much of it was true. Asuka stole a quick glance at a bookshelf on the wall. 

At any rate, she needed to think this over more. Pushing herself up from the desk, she walked through a doorway and into a small living room. Taking a seat on the couch, the redhead picked up a remote and clicked on the news. 

“ _ -experienced it’s second battle this month. The enemy, which NERV has refused to release information about, was thought to have been destroyed at around noon local time. _ ” 

Asuka sighed. The fourth angel. She wracked her brain. The date seemed to match up, about a month after the angel’s first returned, give or take about a week. It seemed that the old timeline was still intact. 

“ _ However, Tokyo 3 is still in a degree of heightened security. While the state of emergency was cleared this afternoon, reports from inside the city are saying that armed patrols are still occurring. A curfew is also being put in place, and the government has posted a hotline urging citizens to report any unusual activity, specifically, bright flashes of orange light. There are some who are speculating that the enemy, whatever it was, was not truly neutralized and is still active in the city. _ ” 

Asuka sat up straighter as the information processed in her brain. That wasn’t right, every angel on record had been neutralized the same day it had appeared. They had to have been, otherwise they would have gotten into Terminal Dogma. There certainly wasn’t an angel that had ever relented in its mission, let alone one that could slip away. Face contorting into a frown, Asuka clicked off the television and stood up. This was it, her first definitive proof that history had been changed. In the years previously, she had wondered if this was just the way things had always happened, a closed loop where history couldn’t be altered, maybe she had already gone back in time an infinite number of times. 

But now? There was no doubting it anymore, they had gone off the script. She started pacing around the room. What could have caused it? There was always the butterfly effect, but none of her actions could have possibly affected the incubation times of the angels. They had never attacked at the same time, no one even knew where most of them were born. 

The other option was that this was the doing of another party. Someone else that had knowledge of the future, a new variable inserted into an old system, just like her. But the time warp had occurred months after third impact, and obviously, no one trapped in the sea of LCL had returned. The only other person who was walking that planet had been…

The redhead stopped in her tracks, her remaining eye opened wide.  _ Shinji Ikari _ . Asuka wanted to dismiss the thought outright. There was no way that Shinji could have done it. The last she remembered, he was numbly sitting in the sand of the beach, not even reacting as she walked away rubbing her bruised neck. That had been over 5 years ago from her perspective, even if Shinji had lasted long enough in the post-apocalyptic wasteland to be sent back, how could he have done all of this? 

From what little she remembered of their school days, Shinji hadn’t been the best student and it seemed far-fetched to think that he had a way to create a brand new angel. 

Perhaps he had gone to NERV instead, told them about the future, revealed everything about the order of the angels and the events of Third Impact. But this escaped angel didn’t seem to be in NERV’s favor, instead, the executive organ of the human instrumentality project seemed to be paralyzed by a complete lack of information about what they were facing. Sending regular soldiers on patrol against an angel was decidedly a strategy of desperation. 

The red head reached the end of the room and stopped. Turning around, she hurried over to the bookcase and took out a heavy German-Japanese dictionary to reveal a small keypad recessed into the wood behind it. Entering in another code, the bookcase made a heavy clunking sound before pulling back and sliding into the wall. Asuka stepped inside the alcove and looked around. To her left was a collection of firearms. A few pistols and a rifle that she had acquired over the years for a battle with SEELE agents that never came. To her left, sitting on the ground and plugged into a thick cable, was a briefcase. Pulling out a metal drawer. She carefully placed the heavy black container on it and undid the latches. Resting inside the refrigerated case, was a block of translucent amber. Suspended at the center of the resin, was a small, vaguely embryonic creature. This was the culmination of hundreds of late nights in the lab, her own secret project kept hidden from her superiors. A living replica of Adam. 

Asuka slipped on a pair of latex gloves and carefully removed the encased creature. The facsimile looked almost identical to the actual article, but in reality, its nature was far less impressive. Without any angelic tissue to work with, the fake had to be grown from human DNA around a small mechanical frame. It’s core was not an unfathomably powerful piece of alien biology, but rather a small battery charged by the photovoltaics hidden in the “eyes”. These, in turn, would be charged by the light inside the briefcase which she kept plugged in around the clock. In truth, the “living” part of the replica was also an exaggeration. While the fleshy tissue was indeed alive, it was kept that way by electrical energy supplied by the battery, not unlike how an Evangelion ran on internal power packs. The thing was really just a microwave transmitter covered in a gooey disguise.

Still, to get the flesh to hold to and grow on the polymer frame in such a specific shape without corroding the electronics was not a small feat. She turned the “creature” around in her hands. Even the “Bakelite'' encasing the faux- embryo was another trick. It was really just a special mix of hardened agar, slowly releasing nutrients to feed the tissue. The redhead placed the trick back into its refrigerated case and closed it. 

The original plan had been to tag along on the UN convoy, then swap suitcases with Kaji when the operative had his guard down. From there she would possess the keystone to SEELE’s goals, while handing them a fake that just happened to broadcast a very similar energy signature as the real deal. She would then take the pretense of the Gaghiel’s attack to escape, apparently dying in the battle. By the time her enemies needed to use “Adam” and realized that they were holding a fake, their plans would have been too far derailed for the Third Impact to happen on time. After that, she could reveal the truth to the world, exposing SEELE’s schemes while they had no cards left to play.

Asuka smiled at herself, letting the fantasy play out in her mind, but only for a moment. What had happened today, had changed things. If Shinji, the Shinji from her time, was alive and carrying out his own plan in Tokyo 3, then she had to be there too. 

Shinji. Asuka paused. It had been quite a while since she had imagined him in the present tense. For her, Shinji Ikari was a sad, tragic fourteen year old boy who probably died on a beach that never existed. But now that there was a possibility that he was alive... Asuka resisted the urge to dismiss the train of thought about Shinji, to declare it, and him as stupid and beneath her. 

Shinji had hurt her, that much was certain. She didn't remember much of instrumentality, but she saw the things that he did, he had seemed disgusting indeed. But since the time warp, she had tried her best to put it behind her. Shinji was gone. There was a child in Tokyo 3 that bore that name. A child that would one day be chosen to pilot an Eva. But the Shinji Ikari that had sat on that beach with her, the one that had tried to kill her and then stopped, the one that had broken down and cried over the destruction of the world. That one never even existed. 

But now? Now, he was back and Asuka wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Was she angered by the audacity of that idiot to be so brash? Fear of what he might be capable of after half a decade? Maybe even relief, that she was not alone in her experience. 

She pursed her lips. If she accepted NERV’s invitation and went to Japan, she would be doing the one thing she vowed not to do again, going in bling. For all she knew the third child might have turned into his father: a cold, calculating, and bitter creature of obsession. (Her own memories of the boy made her highly doubt that interpretation). But all these concerns aside, one thing was certain. If this rogue angel was the work of the third, then she would need to confront him at some point and either get him on her side, or stop him for good. 

Her plans of hiding in some remote wilderness until the angel war blew over was no longer going to work. She glanced at her bag, full of paperwork for military clearance and confidentiality. She would go to Tokyo 3. Trap or not, Shinji or not, if she wanted to change the future she had to be at the epicenter of where the present was unfolding. It seemed that she would end up returning to the Geofront after all.. 

…………

Ritsuko Akagi hurriedly walked down the brightly lit corridors of NERV’s medical wing. Trying to keep up besides her, Maya Ibuki busily attempted to keep an armful of folders from scattering across the floor. 

“How’s Rei doing?” The young technician asked with concern. The doctor flipped another page in the packet she was holding. 

“Rei is stable.” She answered. “There are no new injuries that we can see, she is resting right now.”

“That angel...I can’t imagine what she must be going through, being attacked mentally like that…” The younger woman trailed off.

“Indeed.” Ritsuko replied. “Luckily there are no signs of psychological contamination. As for more subtler forms of trauma, that will take some time to assess.”

“To think that the pilots will be facing that angel more in the future…” Maya trailed off. “There has to be something we can do, someway to protect them against that kind of attack.”

The doctor lifted up another page of paper. 

“As a matter of fact, I have already taken the precaution of procuring a specialist.” 

Maya blinked in surprise. 

“Really? Who?”

“I found their credentials in the database of the European branch.” Ritsuko explained. “Doctor Emalia Richter, she’s a university researcher, but seems to be at the forefront of research regarding psychological contamination and related subjects. From what I saw, her knowledge is quite impressive, even by our standards.” 

“If she’s a civilian, how can she get security clearance for working on stuff related to the angels?” Maya thought aloud. 

“This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve recruited people from outside.” The doctor said. “I’ve already sent her the forms authorizing security clearance after she arrives in Japan.” 

The pair stopped walking as they reached a pneumatic door. There was a short hiss as the composite panel slid back to reveal a large, mostly empty, hospital room. Sitting upright in the bed was Rei Ayanami, staring vacantly ahead. A fresh bandage had been applied over her eye and her arm was still in a sling. Stepping into the room, Ritsuko walked up besides the bed.

“How are you feeling Rei?” She asked slowly.

“I feel fine.” Rei replied in her characteristically flat voice.

“Any new discomfort that appeared after the battle? ” 

“No.” 

Ritsuko nodded slightly, wrote something down on her notepad and leaned in with a pen light. She nodded as the girl’s pupils contracted in response to the glare.

“Any hallucinations, difficulty sleeping, emotional instability?” She continued.

There was a pause. “No.” Rei finally said, just as flatly as before. 

“Alright.” Ritsuko glanced at the readings for the girl’s vitals, before finishing her notes. “You’ll have to stay here for another 24 hours just to be safe.” The doctor declared. Then, turning around, she briskly walked out of the room, closing the door as a concerned Maya looked on.

…………

Rei waited until the door had fully sealed before lying back down. The blue haired girl blinked at the ceiling. She had lied. She had lied when Ritsuko asked her the last question. What reason did she have to lie to Ritsuko? Rei knew that she was created for a purpose, the purpose the commander had designated. Ritsuko was part of that purpose, the doctor was there to make sure Rei could live to continue that purpose, so why did she feel a deep pang of mistrust when the woman had asked her that question? She closed her eyes.

At first there was darkness, nothingness, the closest thing to the oblivion she often remembered. Then the images began. First she was small, much shorter than she was now. She couldn’t breath, a dark figure standing over her, hands wrapped around her throat. Red. Now she was tall, taller than any human. She towered high over the floor of the pristine test chamber. There were other people, they stood before her, watching from behind thick glass.

Suddenly, she felt a spike of rage drive into her heart, igniting her blood with anger. She reached out, a great orange fist extending, cratering the wall with a heavy punch. The commander, the anger was directed at him. Another punch smashed into the wall as she felt her strength leaving her, then everything went black. 

The first child opened her eyes with a start. Sweat covered her face and arms, the inside of her mouth was dry. She sat up again. She had first seen the visions when she had gone to neutralize the angel in the Geofront, it had projected something into her mind, and now, she could remember more. She didn’t understand what it meant, but for every time she entered Eva, she now held two sets of memories about the same events. One as she was now, a pilot, and the other, as if she was the Evangelion itself. These new recollections didn’t carry the feeling of synchronization, instead the feeling of oneness with the titanic cybernetic body was far more visceral. 

It was also these latter memories that were blurrier, less defined, and had appeared after the encounter with the unknown angel. In addition to these memories, the battle had also left her with sudden bouts of rage. They passed quickly enough, but every time she tried to imagine the commander, she would feel a sudden flash of fury directed at him. Rei looked down at her pristine white sheets and took a long breath. 

There was also one other development that she hadn't told the doctor. Taking her hand out from under the covers, Rei opened her palm facing the ceiling. She concentrated, focusing her mental energy into her arm. She had done this before when piloting an Eva. Her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed. Slowly, above the open palm of her left hand, a small orange octagon of light flickered into existence. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Germany, a twenty year old Asuka begins her "research" mission to Tokyo 3, but encountering Kaji and a younger version of herself on the UN naval convoy will throw a wrench in her plans. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the battle against Ramiel is about to start again. However, the Shinji and Kaworu cannot anticipate the consequences that their interference will have on this pivotal battle.

The squawking of seagulls filled the air above the port of Hamburg. Asuka Langley Soryu sat on a bench, staring at the convoy of warships slowly arriving. It had been a few weeks since she received NERV’s acceptance, and she had finished her preparations for the “research mission” to Japan. Piled up on the ground beside the bench was a large stack of bags and suitcases containing all the things she would need to carry out her mission. Most of it was information, mountains of documentation on the angels and SEELE, stored on hard drives or printed on paper.

She had also spent the intervening weeks plotting, planning her moves once she got to Tokyo 3. Working in the geofront, she would be able to use her foreknowledge to mitigate some of the damage the angels had caused, but stopping SEELE’s final plans was a different matter. 

The idea of commandeering an Evangelion had slowly worked its way into her head. Asuka remembered that despite the large number of vessels in the convoy, Unit 02 itself had been lightly guarded. Presumably this was because no one besides her was able to use it, but that lack of security had the potential to backfire on them now. The redhead turned the idea over in her mind. Activating a giant, skyscraper sized mech was probably not the best thing to do at sea, especially since she wouldn’t be able to escape with it. A better plan would be to take it once they got to Tokyo 3. 

Asuka frowned. Even then, she still wouldn’t get far before running out of batteries. That was not something she was keen to experience again. Perhaps she could get one of the Evas that NERV wouldn’t miss. Her thoughts began to turn towards the American branch before a loud ship’s horn cut through her planning. 

Looking up, the redhead squinted into the sun with her uncovered eye. Coming down through the channel was a massive grey shape. Narrow at the waterline, it’s profile flared out into a wide deck, topped with a small rectangular structure on the starboard side. The supercarrier:  _ Over The Rainbow _ had arrived. Groaning, Asuka piled her bags together and started dragging them towards the gangway. 

After a long, grueling haul and then a mind numbing security check, Asuka found herself back on the topside of the aircraft carrier. She took a deep breath and looked around. Just as she remembered. The flight deck was still busy with engineers and airmen, but with the ship resting in safe harbor, most of the work was maintenance and checkups. Swiveling her head to the starboard side, she spied another large vessel passing besides them. It was a cargo ship, wide and sitting low in the water. All of its superstructure was arranged aft, with a helicopter perched right between its funnels. The rest of the ship’s length was taken up by a large cargo bay. It was lined with tubing and filled with a dark purple liquid, but the space was otherwise empty. 

_ Unit 02… _ Images of the Evangelion flashed in Asuka’s mind and the redhead suddenly felt her eyes becoming watery. She closed them tightly, and quickly wiped the tears away before looking back at the barge. It was still headed inland, towards a larger loading area where she knew the Eva would already be located. And if the Evangelion was to be loaded soon, then that meant that its pilot was also not too far away. Turning in a full circle, Asuka surveyed the skyline of Hamburg, her eyes coming to rest on a sleek, dark helicopter quickly approaching. A pair of aircraft directors ran from the command tower as the vehicle approached and slowly guided it in.

There was a clunk as the helicopter touched down, the rapid chop of its rotators turning into a slow thwacking sound against the air. After a moment, the side door slid open. A tall man with a ponytail and carrying a large black suitcase stepped out. Quickly following him, a girl wearing a yellow sundress confidently leaped onto the deck. The older Asuka frowned under the brim of her hat. She had anticipated being on the same ship as her younger self, but seeing a 14 year old Asuka strut around, repeating the same motions that were in her memory was like having an out of body experience. The redhead suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over her and she tightened her grip on the heavy luggage to keep from swaying. 

Kaji thanked the pilot and crossed the deck towards the bridge. The door swung outwards and the captain walked up to meet him. Asuka remembered the captain well: a gruff old military man, he had been (or rather, was currently) quite upset that the entire pacific fleet had been redirected to transport a single experimental weapon. His body language as he begrudgingly shook Kaji’s hand conveyed a negativity the older Asuka was all too familiar with: the bitterness of injured pride.

Meanwhile, the teenager seemed to be oblivious to the tension between the captain and Kaji. Carrying a relatively light bag, she strode around on deck, keenly observing the barge as it drifted past. Watching the smile on her younger visage, the older Asuka suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia. It really was simpler back then. She was the hero. She had been assigned that role almost from birth and trained for the majority of her childhood. She would be the one to destroy the angels and save all of humanity. Of course there would be danger, but that was what all the training was for, she wouldn’t die in the battles to come, that fate was reserved for her enemies. The story was neat, concise and simple. 

Now, standing on board the aircraft carrier, getting ready to depart for another world changing mission, she almost believed it again. There were two Asukas here, and together, they were the best Eva pilot and the greatest scientist in the world, nothing could stop them. In the distance, the teenager in the yellow dress walked up to Kaji and said something two him, then they both turned, eyes locking on her. The older Asuka jerked head to the side instinctively. Her blood, which had been running hot from anticipation, was now ice in her veins. Letting her shoulders loose, she feigned interest in the small boats loading provision onto the mothership. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the pair conversing, their gazes firmly affixed to the side of her head. Sweat ran down her cheek. 

After a minute, the pair turned away and disappeared into the command bridge with the captain. The twenty year old stood in the same position until a call rang out for all NERV personnel. Even then, she waited until there was already a sizable crowd by the tower before beginning to shakily haul her luggage once again.

…………

It was night time when the older Asuka stepped back out into the open. The air was much cooler now that the sun had gone down. A light breeze made the evening much more enjoyable than a stuffy cabin. She pursed her lips, scanning the darkened deck for any sign of Kaji or her younger self. She didn’t want a repeat of the awkward encounter from earlier. Her eyes settled on an open stretch of ship, far away from any fighter jet or landing strip, there she wouldn’t be disturbed. 

Arriving at the empty spot, the redhead took the thick bed sheet from under her arm and laid it out, weighing it down with a heavy, but unimportant textbook that she had taken along for the research mission.  _ The stars...I haven’t seen them for….maybe not since third impact. _ She realized with a start.  _ I guess that’s the price of having people in the world again, cities filled with light and smoke, obscuring the sky _ . She mused to herself.

There was a clang of metal on metal and Asuka frowned. _ It was probably just some technician that had come topside to fix a plane  _ she told herself.

“Finally some fresh air!” Asuka’s scowl deepened upon hearing a young, feminine voice shouted out from the base of the bridge tower.  _ No, please not now! _ She had come out here on deck to avoid this encounter! Sitting up, she reached for the heavy book weighing down the sheet. She could probably void them if she took the long way around behind the jet-

“Hey you! I saw you staring at us earlier today!” The redhead froze. Then the sound of footsteps approached and she cursed silently. Taking a deep sigh, the older Asuka hurriedly stuffed her hair underneath her black cap and zipped up her jacket right as a flashlight beam fell across her face.

“Hey!” She yelled, trying to drop her voice to an uncharacteristic pitch. “Watch where you’re shining that!” The glare stopped moving and Asuka squinted her uncovered eye, seeing two silhouettes behind the torch. Then the blinding light was turned off and the face of Kaji and a younger Asuka appeared in front of her.

“I saw you staring at us earlier today.” The fourteen year old repeated. “I thought you were a spy, but Kaji doesn't think so.” The twenty year old kept on scowling for a second before realizing that they were waiting for her to introduce herself. 

“I’m doctor Emalia Richter.” She said. “I’m going to Tokyo 3 as part of a collaborative research project with the NERV.” 

“Doctor?” The teenager asked. “Aren’t you a little young for that?” 

_And_ _aren’t you a little young for being angel fodder?_ The twenty year old almost snapped. “Well, I learn quickly.” She replied instead. 

The teenager hmphed. “So, then you’re not part of NERV?” She asked.

“I have a provisional ID as part of the collaboration.” The older redhead pulled out a small plastic card from her pocket and gestured towards Kaji. “ If the special inspector over there wants to check.” 

Kaji shook his head. “I’m sure the UN security was thorough enough. However I am surprised that you know who I am.” 

“The other NERV personnel told me over dinner.” The twenty year old replied. “You seem to have quite the reputation among your colleagues.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t believe every rumor you hear in the mess hall.” Kaji rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Then what would  **you** say your mission is?” She cocked her uncovered eyebrow. 

“Enough!” The teenager interrupted. “Mr. Kaji isn’t interested in you!” 

The older Asuka stifled a laugh. Was that really what she was like? To think that she used to just snap at people to protect her pride….

The doctor blinked. Although thinking more about it, did she really grow out of that defensiveness, or was she just suppressing it better? There was an argument that she only shifted the focus inward, towards her research and planning, away from the external world that could disprove her pride and injure her ego. Was she really that different from the girl that stood in front of her now? 

“And who are you?” Doctor Richter asked the teenager. 

“You don’t know who I am?!” The girl replied incredulously. “Please, I don’t think there’s a single person in Germany who doesn’t know who I am! I am Asuka Langley Soryu! The pilot of Evangelion Unit 02!” 

“So you’re the pilot for that thing?” The doctor pointed out towards the dark barge.

“That’s right!” The teenager replied confidently. 

“I would really like to know how you NERV people built that thing.” The older redhead commented. 

“Ah, unfortunately that’s classified.” Kaji explained. 

“Oh, I have clearance.” She answered, waving the temporary NERV ID card. “If you don’t know the information I want, that’s fine. I’ll get the material for my research when we land anyways.” It wasn’t a total lie. Despite knowing the general principles on which an Evangelion operated, Asuka realized that she still had many questions about mechs that needed to be answered before she could even think about commandeering one. The myriad of launch procedures that she had taken for granted were now objects of her interest. 

“So, what happened to your eye?” The teenager asked, leaning in for batter look.

“Asuka,” Kaji chided. “She probably doesn't want to talk-”

“It was a fight.” The twenty year old said seriously. Kaji stopped and turned to her surprise. 

“I’ve been in several over the years, most of them... weren’t pretty.” She held up her right hand, showing the long pale scar that ran down the center, disappearing into her jacket sleeve.

Someone gulped.

“You have quite a lot of combat experience for an academic…” Kaji observed, more quietly this time.

“What? Getting convinced that I actually am a spy?” The twenty year old jabbed. “Believe me, if I were a spy, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to have this conversation.” She stood up and dusted herself off. “As for your observation about my experiences, I think we all have secrets we would rather keep to ourselves.” An uncomfortable silence followed as all three suddenly became aware of the strange circumstances of their conversation.

Finally the older Asuka reached down and picked up her heavy book, before rolling the sheet under her arm. Then she turned to the teenager. 

“A word of advice.” She said. “When you’re in combat, watch out for psychological contamination.” 

The girl waved her hand “Yeah, yeah, Believe me they told me all of that in training.” 

The older Asuka shook her head. “No, listen. Beyond what they have been telling you. The enemies you’re going to face, they will be able to harm you in ways far beyond just physical damage, they can make you feel pain that you never even dreamed of.” 

“Hey! Wh-a?” The teenager blinked in surprise as the doctor suddenly leaned in, her single eye was a bright blue laser boring into the girl’s face. 

“From my own experience, never underestimate an unknown enemy, because the moment you treat a battle like it’s already won, that’s the moment you lose.” 

With that she turned and disappeared into the gloom of the dark flight deck, leaving Kaji and the younger Asuka staring after her in shock.

…………

“A state of emergency has been declared for all of Tokyo 3, please evacuate to the nearest shelters immediately.” 

That warning had been first broadcast around noon, now night had fallen over the city and there was no sign of it being lifted. The city was motionless, but far from dark. Massive spotlights shined up from the street level, illuminating the body of the fifth angel as it eerily rotated above its drilling point. 

Shinji poked his binoculars out from behind a rock and sighed. He and Kaworu had chosen to set up perpendicular to the battle, on a hillside that flanked the lake where the duel would shortly be taking place. To his left was NERV’s “sniper’s nest”, through the binoculars, he could make out Unit 01 laying on its stomach behind the position rifle. Unit 00 stood further back, a space shuttle heat shield mounted onto its arms. To his right, on the opposite shore from NERV, was Ramiel. The angel had gracefully sat there, unmoving as it absorbed every rocket and shell that was thrown at it. Everytime it was struck, it had counter-attacked with lethal precision, vaporizing whatever cannon or missile battery that had been deployed. 

“We have approximately five minutes until Operation Yashima begins.” Kaworu whispered from his concealed position. Shinji looked at his watch. 11:55, there were only a few minutes left, provided that the schedule from the old timeline was still correct. A bead of sweat rolled down the former pilot’s face. Besides their previous interactions with NERV, Shinji had other reasons to believe that Operation Yashima would not be the same as he remembered it. 

First of all, Unit 01 hadn’t been sent up prematurely. Instead, NERV had launched the balloon decoy first, a cautionary move that was probably prompted by Kaworu’s battle with Unit 00. Secondly, NERV had been a lot more defensive with their approach. Focusing multiple attacks from a distance, targeting the angel’s drill bit. There were even signs that they were attempting to reinforce the armor plates to stop Ramiel’s intrusion.

Shinji hadn’t been able to make out any explicit differences in the setup, however, after their last encounter, he was still on edge. Things were always just a split second away from going off the deep end.

“Two minutes.” Kaworu said. A buzzer from a geiger counter beeped. Shinji’s eyes went wide.

_ No...Not this early! _ Swiveling the binoculars back onto Ramiel, A faint magenta glow had begun to develop along the joint between the angel’s two halves. 

“No!” Shinji hissed out from between gritted teeth. “They’re not ready yet!” 

Shinji felt a sudden pressure on his shoulder as Kaworu pulled himself up, head craned forward, eyes squinting at the other angel.

“No, she’s not aiming at them…” Kaworu took the binoculars from Shinji. “She’s...aiming at US!” The former pilot’s mouth fell open. A bright pink flare engulfed the entire hillside, and Shinji felt himself yanked down as a wall of orange light exploded into existence. 

Shinji’s cry was lost under the tsunami of sound that erupted next to him. Ramiel’s devastating beam struck Kaworu’s AT field at maximum power and split. Arcs of purple light streaked over head, gouging massive holes in the mountain behind them. The fifth angel’s earsplitting scratch followed, adding an impossibly high note to the cacophony of destruction. More objects impacted the AT field as Kaworu manifested a second barrier to block the landslide from behind them. Clinging to the shaking ground beneath the canopy of light, Shinji felt like the chaos would never end. 

The former pilot realized that the attack was over only when the sound of his own screaming finally reached his ears. Quickly pulling himself together, he turned towards his partner, who was kneeling over him, both arms extended outwards. 

“Kaworu? Are you hurt?” He blurted out.

“I’m fine Shinji.” The angel smiled from under his bangs.

“Ramiel’s gonna fire again!” Shinji cried as he looked towards the fifth angel. Already, the faint pink glow was returning. In a blink, Kaworu was on his feet, hands still held out. He took a step forward and Shinji felt the ground change under him. Dirt and stone replaced by a smooth barrier of energy. Kaworu took another step forward and they were off, speeding across the hillside so quickly that everything became a blur of dark green and mottled brown. Shinji turned to look at Ramiel, just as the angelic cry peaked.

…………

“Power building up inside the target, it’s going to fire!” Maya shouted back towards Ritsuko.

“What? No!” The doctor gripped the chair and leaned forward. “Operation Yashima hasn’t even started yet!” Behind her, Misato turned to the comms.

“Shinji, Rei brace for impact!” Everyone in the command car winced as the readings reached a maximum and discharged. A second passed and no attack hit the hillside. Then an alarm blared.

“AT field anomaly detected on western shore of Lake Ashi!” Hyuga cried. “Pattern orange, it’s signature matches the entity that infiltrated the Geofront!” 

“No not now!” Ritsuko pleaded. 

“The fifth angel has fired at the unknown entity.” Aoba reported.

“Positron rifle has begun firing preparations!” Maya added.

Ritsuko and Misato looked at each other. Then they blinked in unison as an idea passed between them.

“The enemy is distracted…” Misato mused.

“Which means we’re clear to take the shot now.” Ritsuko finished. 

The purple haired woman snapped back to the comms station. 

“Begin target lock on the fifth angel. Shinji, Fire when the reticles align!” 

Instantly, the energy readings spiked, as all of Japan’s electricity poured through miles of superconductors, directly into the fuse of the positron rifle. 

“Rifle is fully charged and standing by for targeting lock!”

Misato nodded. The AT field anomaly was still speeding across the mountain side, the fifth angel’s firing port tracking it across the hillside. Then, the bright magenta glow dimmed. 

“Energy rerouting inside the target!” Maya shouted. “It’s preparing to fire!” Ritsuko grabbed the back of the chair and leaned forwards. On the telescopic display, the fifth angel had stopped rotating, the luminous vertx now pointed directly at the sniping position. 

“Everyone get down!” 

An eerie magenta light had begun to stream through the tiny windows of the command truck before the sentence was even finished. A split second later, a gigantic thump tore through the ground beneath the vehicle. Technicians screamed and grabbed their consoles as the entire mountainside heaved under the angel’s attack. Then, the screech arrived. Spiking above the rest of the destruction, the fifth angel let loose a bone shattering cry of triumph as it’s attack found its mark. 

The feed from the positron rifle cut out, the entire weapon melting under the sustained energy pulse. By the time the pink light disappeared, Unit 01 was laying alone behind a molten pile of slag. 

“No…”Ritsuko stood up, jaw dropping at the sight on the monitor. 

“We’re done for.” Hyuga said quietly from his monitor. On the hillside, the AT field anomaly vanished. Misato gritted her teeth, hands clenched around the back seat of a chair. She couldn’t let this spiral out like this, she needed to take control of the situation.

“Disregard the anomaly.” She ordered the crew. “Shinji, Rei!” She grabbed the microphone. “Operation Yashima is cancelled, rendezvous in the geofront for a final defense at close range.”

“Ye-yes ma’am.” Shinji’s voice was weak and defeated. 

“No.” Rei’s reply was short and curt. 

Misato blinked. Her brain refused to process what the girl had just said. 

“Rei.” She pressed her mouth to the mic again. “The position rifle has been destroyed, we need to retreat to the geofront, that’s our best chance of neutralizing the angel!” 

“No.” The same reply, clearer and louder this time. “I am capable of neutralizing the angel right now.” 

Misato stared at the comm monitor, dumbfounded. So many things had gone wrong in just the last five minutes, and now Rei was directly disobeying orders. She was paralyzed, letting the mic drop to the floor. The NERV operations captain suddenly found herself at a loss for words. 

“Energy building up side the target!” Maya shouted for the third time. 

Misato was jolted from her shock and snapped to the screen. On the burnt hillside, Unit 01 had begun to get up, its torso rising just over the ridgeline. 

“Shinji!” Misato tried to say, but it was too late, the mountains were once again enveloped in a blinding pink flash. Misato winced, turning away, expecting the third child’s screams to pour through the speakers. Instead, there was a sharp ping of an AT field, before the angel’s beam split like water.

Misato turned back at the sound, mouth still aghast. On the hill outside, standing in front of the destructive torrent of plasma, was Unit 00. The heat shield had been discarded in the unburnt tree line. The mech had it’s left arm extended, a massive AT field projected in front of its empty palm. The angel’s beam was focused directly at the center of the octogonal barriers, but far from shattering, the energy shield held fast. 

“That’s impossible…” Ritsuko whispered, picking herself up. “The energy needed to stop the particle beam, there’s no way Unit 00 could generate something so powerful…”

Misato looked at the doctor.

“Does this mean Unit 00 has gone berserk?”

Ritsuko’s eyes darted across the readouts from the Eva. “Rei’s synch rate is in the triple digits, but there’s no rejection of command signals.”

“What does that mean?” Misato pressed.

“I-I don’t know.” Ritsuko shakily confessed. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” 

The NERV captain didn’t speak, instead her face morphed into a mask of angst and concern. The shaking subsided as the angel spent the last of its energy, the particle beam fading into the darkness. All around the command truck, Personnel looked at the screen and watched as Unit 00 stood face to face against the fifth angel. 

…………

Rei took a deep breath and lowered her AT field. She pressed a button on the controls and a countdown started on the HUD. Timing the previous firing patterns, she knew that angel could fire as quickly as once every twenty seconds. She flicked another switch and the Evangelion responded by crouching down into a sprinting stance. She wasn’t going to wait for the angel to shoot again, she was going on the offensive. The massive legs of the Eva flexed and Rei felt herself leaping off the hilltop, sailing through the air, arcing towards the mirror-like surface of Lake Ashi. 

Rei crouched just a few feet above the water. A bright orange surface erupted outwards from the Eva’s left foot, catching her. Using the remaining momentum of the fall, she rebounded and leapt forwards, Unit 00’s right foot landing on top of another growing polygon. Bringing the other foot onto the same AT field, Rei paused for a second, finding her balance, before taking off in a full sprint across the lake. Shimmering energy crystallized like ice above the water, catching the mighty footfalls of the Evangelion as it closed with the enemy. 

Rei knew in the back of her mind that she shouldn’t be doing this. This action was disobeying a direct order from Misato and in effect, disobeying the commander. But something compelled her to continue on. A voice, in her own head? Or in the mind of the Eva? Was there even a difference anymore? Ever since entering Unit 00 earlier that day, Rei had known something was different. Memories and emotions flowed freely between her and the Eva like never before. Those same memories that she had seen after the incident in the geofront were now reinforced. Standing on that hilltop, waiting for the battle to start, the first child had realized that the mind inside the Evangelion was her. As she understood more of the past, she was able to more firmly grasp the Eva’s emotions. It was those recollected emotions that contained the burning spark of defiance that now carried her across the waters. The strange bouts of anger and resentment that she had felt for the commander had come from the other piece of her trapped inside the core of Unit 00. 

Rei didn’t understand the reason for that anger yet, but she knew that acknowledging it would give her strength. Strength to stop the angel’s weapon and to save Shinji, strength to destroy the angel threatening NERV, and strength to do what was right. 

Up ahead, the angel’s nearest vertx had turned to face her, a magenta light already spilling out from the circumference. Rei glanced at the timer: 5 seconds left. 

“Rei! The angel is about to fire again! Get bac-” Misato’s panicked order was suddenly cut out. The first child looked down to see that her left hand had flipped off the radio. She blinked. Did she do that? Or was it the Eva? Across the lake, the screaming reached a crescendo and another blazing energy beam lanced out to meet the charging Evangelion. 

Mid step, Unit 00 shot out an arm, unfolding a brilliant array of octagons. The angel’s attack struck the shield and split, deflecting around the Evangelion, blasting up huge water spouts into the night. Unit 00 staggered slightly under the cascade of exotic particles. It swung its left leg wide, another platform appearing just in time to support the massive boot. 

Rei groaned, adjusting the balance of the massive mecha. She felt the heat and force from the plasma was far more viscerally than any sensation she had felt in an Eva ever before. Pushing the left control, the Eva’s leg responded, kicking out faster and more accurately than should have been possible. Even the jolt of the stomp seemed to travel up Rei’s leg much faster. A white holt bolt of anger shot through her heart.  _ How dare one of Adam’s children strike her?! She had inherited this planet, not them, the progeny of the white moon would presume to attack a seed of life?! _

Rei grimaced. The thoughts…she knew that they were not hers, but simultaneously she knew that they could only have come from the soul inside the Eva. A series of images flashed through her head. Not from the point of view of Unit 00, but visions that were far, far older. The inside of a great chamber, a violent cataclysm, small figures in lab coats, a helical spear stabbing through her chest. Rei blinked, forcing the image from her mind. She had to stay focused on the battle at hand. 

_ The angel will be neutralized _ . She projected the thought towards the Eva’s core.  _ We have to stay synchronized for that to happen.  _ She paused, feeling the joints of the Eva creak beneath the fifth angel’s searing blast. Then, from deep within the massive space that was Unit 00’s core, came a reply. It wasn’t encoded in words, but Rei felt a begrudging “Yes.” The rage quickly subsided. 

The First Child let out a shaky breath into the LCL, and watched the stream of bubbles slowly rise. By the time they disappeared, the angel’s attack was also over. Rei’s finger immediately flew to the timer again, twenty seconds flashing on the HUD. In the blink of an eye, Unit 00 was back in a sprinter's stance and another moment later, the Eva was on the move, rocketing across the remaining distance towards the shore. Seven hundred meters, six hundred meters, five hundred meters.

The angel had begun glowing again. At this range, it was apparent how much the gargantuan geometric creature dwarfed the Evangelion. The energy for the particle cannon, which had seemed like just a blip on the hillside, was now nearly blinding aura around the crystalline messenger. 

Four hundred meters, three hundred, two hundred. The angel’s scream was now starting to grow in volume again. The glass on the skyscrapers was starting to vibrate, throwing the reflected landscape into a chaotic spasm. 

One hundred meters, landfall. Rei drew in a sharp breath and leaped. Unit 00 was like a bolt of lightning, shooting up vertically, the 75 meter mech left the lake surface just as the angel’s weapon plowed into the shallows, plowing up a gigantic plume of sand and water. Rei squinted at the sudden burst of pink light from beneath her Eva. The tops of the skyscrapers sailed into view as Rei felt her ascent slow towards the top of her arc. She closed her eyes, feeling the brief moment of weightlessness. Then she focused, and imagined a bright orange light bursting behind her.

There was a colossal bang and Unit 00 was flung forward, shooting through the air at supersonic speeds. The buildings whizzed by in a blur, the body of the fifth angel suddenly expanding in the field of view. With a flash, Rei extended the Eva’s arms and braced hard. 

A thunderous crash rocked the entry plug as Unit 00 slammed into the angel’s AT field. Rei ignored the bolts of pain shooting through her arms and pushed the controls forward. Sparks erupted from the Eva’s hands and feet, AT fields clashed and corroded, Unit 00 slid down the angel’s vertical barrier. Abruptly, Rei felt a second jolt of sharp pain in her left shoulder, and then stillness. Looking up, she saw that the Eva’s hand had torn a small hole in the angel’s barrier and latched onto the torn edge. 

Rei moved instantly, planting the Eva’s feet onto the AT field and kicked. With the agility of an acrobat, the huge mech gracefully leapt through the widening gap, and landed on the angel’s top half. Immediately, the Eva began to slide off the mirror like skin of the angel’s body. Reacting with almost superhuman speeds, Rei flexed Unit 00’s arms, grabbing onto the small ledge between the two halves. she felt the sudden stop reverberate through the LCL and looked up to see a ominous Fuchsia light, quickly growing in intensity. 

Her saving grip had incidentally put the Eva’s head directly in front of the angel’s weapon port. Before she even realized it, Rei found that Unit 00 had reached into a shoulder pylon and pulled out a progressive knife. The blade buzzed to life as it left the sheath, seeming to shine with a dim purple aura. Plating her feet on the angel’s lower half, Rei pulled her arm back and drove the knife into the angel with all her strength. 

The pilot felt the force of a monumental impact as the blade made contact with the angel’s body. Her entire arm vibrated like a bell that had been struck with a sledgehammer. A brilliant shower of sparks exploded from the contact point, megahertz composite alloy trying to cleave through living crystalline exotic matter. For a single moment, it seemed that the angel would be split in half at the seam. Then the blade shattered. 

Shrapnel blasted out at hypersonic speeds, shattering building windows and cutting deep gashes in the Eva’s armor. Rei slipped, barely catching the ledge again with her hand. There was a small thud as the empty hilt hit the asphalt below. The first child panted, finding herself right back to where she had started. Dangling high above the city, right in the enemy’s crosshairs. Except now, the angel was mere moments away from decapitating her with a stream of cosmic fire. 

Rei glanced back at the rear of the entry plug. The self destruct mechanism stood undamaged. If she started the sequence now, Unit 00’s core could probably detonate a few milliseconds before the angel was able to fire. She moved to initiate the self destruct and plug eject procedures when an image shot through her mind. 

It had been projected from the version of her inside the Eva. Rei blinked and realized that it was a plan of action. Sitting back down, she grabbed the controls and shoved them forwards. The Eva leaped, clawing its way onto the angel’s top half. Straining, she planted one foot on each side of the center ridge and pulled her right hand back. The glow emitting from the weapon port was now a roiling inferno of magenta light. Rei closed her eyes and sent a question deep into the Eva.  _ “Now”  _ It answered. With a cry that she had never uttered before, Rei poured all of her energy into the raised fist, concentrating the entirety of her mental focus onto Unit 00’s hand and driving the fist into the angel’s weapon. 

The most powerful AT field in the world exploded inside the narrow space moments before the enemy fired. Rei stifled a scream, searing pain blasting across the skin of her arm. Fuchsia light shot out around her, bathing Unit 00, the angel, and several city blocks in a blinding flare. 

But unlike the radiation, deep inside the angel’s body, the particle beam had slammed to halt against the Eva’s AT field. The destructive torrent of plasma ricocheted off the impenetrable barrier and shot back towards the core. A sharp splintering sound echoed out from the weapon port. 

Then the angel exploded.

A magenta supernova shattered the crystalline being. Gigantic fissures it’s mirror like skin ripped open, spilling vast plumes of internal energy into dark night sky. Rei felt the shockwave hit the Eva with a massive thump. She was in the air, clinging to a shattered piece of the fifth angel, sailing in a long arc towards the street below. Landing in a monumental crash, Rei looked up to see the rest of the angel disintegrating in slow motion. The broken shards of its body rained down like a meteor shower, each piece wreathed in that unearthly pink flame. High above the falling debris, the angel’s uncontained reaction billowed upwards, blossoming like a massive flower of destruction and illuminating the city with a rapidly fading glow. Then, the cordless Evangelion shut down, and Rei’s view went black.

…………

Shinji and Kaworu timidly watched the pink flames mushroom out above the tallest skyscrapers. The pair had quickly hidden behind a rock when Ramiel engaged with Unit 01. The next five minutes had flown by in a blur. Shinji had missed most of it, hiding behind the rock for protection against the gargantuan energy blasts. In truth he had only seen the very end of the battle, the aftermath of Ramiel being ripped apart and Unit 00 falling into the city. Shinji’s mouth was opened slightly and he exhaled a trembling breath. Besides him Kaworu was also dumbstruck, eyes glued to the spectacle before them. 

“That’s….that’s impossible….right?!” Shinji said after the fireball had faded to a plume of thick black smoke. 

“Rei has begun to realize her true nature.” Kaworu muttered. He covered his mouth with a hand, deep in thought. “That level of power was not from her Evangelion, rather it’s her own soul. She must have reconnected to the portion inside of Unit 00.” 

Shinji looked over in puzzlement. 

“But… you said that the Rei’s soul was still split in half!” Shinji said.

“Yes, but the mental contact….” Kaworu trailed off.

The former pilot’s eyes narrowed. 

“You said you showed her memories, were they her memories?” He pressed. 

“Yes.” Kaworu answered quietly. “In my haste, I pulled whatever thoughts I could find in her mind, and many of those were memories that only the Evangelion remembered.” 

Shinji pulled Kaworu by the shoulder, turning him away from Ramiel’s corpse. 

“Does Rei know that she is Lilith, how much does she know about SEELE’s scenario?” He asked seriously. 

Kaworu blinked, taken aback by his partner’s sudden sternness.

“Rei is probably still unaware of what she really is, but she has remembered enough to begin acting outside the scenario, I would even dare to say that she is beginning to doubt her purpose.” Shinji’s eyes remained focused on Kaworu’s. Blue glaring at Red in an intense moment of doubt. Then Shinji’s eyelids dropped and he relaxed.

“That’s good…” He sat back and trailed off. 

Kaworu crossed his legs and pursed his lips.

“You still care a lot about Rei.” The statement was somewhere between a question and an assertion. 

Shinji sighed. “She’s still family…” The former pilot trailed off again. “I know that she’s just a clone, and her soul isn’t human... but Ayanami is still a person.” 

Kaworu nodded. Even after all these years, Shinji had still retained the compassionate core of his soul. It was the same soul that had allowed the third child to see the humanity inside of Kaworu himself all those years ago. 

“Now that we know everything that’s going to happen, I can’t let her be used by my father like that again.” Shinji turned back to Kaworu, his mouth twisted and eyes weary. “But I don’t think our current approach is working. Sitting on the sidelines and trying to find an opportunity to use your powers...We’re drawing a lot of attention but still not accomplishing much. We’re still relying on NERV to neutralize each angel and now we’ve exposed Rei to more danger than before.” 

Kaworu leaned forwards, sliding down the rock and onto the grass. “That’s true.” He nodded. “We haven’t been the most successful with our plan, what do you have in mind?” He asked, inquisitively.

Shinji took a deep breath and leaned back looking at the sky. 

“I think…I think we need our own Evangelion.” 

…………

Asuka hurried down the narrow corridors of the aircraft carrier as stealthily as possible. She had passed her own room and continued on towards the end of the hallway. In this section of the vessel, there was one larger cabin pressed against the outside hull. Before the second impact, it would have been reserved for a high ranking officer, but now it was the room of the NERV special inspector. 

Coming to the single door, Asuka reached into her pocket and pulled out a small lockpicking kit.  _ Over The Rainbow _ was an old vessel, even before the second impact. After it had been made UN pacific flagship, there were barely enough funds to modernize the weapon systems. Nobody bothered updating the cabin locks. As a result, the bolt mechanism was severely outdated. A few seconds of prodding later, Asuka heard a click and pushed the door open. 

A dark cabin greeted her, light from the hall throwing jagged beams of illumination across the bed. Asuka pushed the door shut behind her and paused, letting her eye adjust to the low light. When the room had finally come into focus, the redhead quickly began her search.  It didn’t take long for her to find what she was looking for. Stashed in the closet, buried under a pile of bags and clothes, was a bulky black briefcase. Radiation warning stickers were plastered across its surface and hung from the tags. Asuka ignored the hazard signs and yanked it out onto the floor of the cabin. Flipping it upright, Asuka was now faced with the daunting task of cracking the case’s security. An array of rotary and key locks greeted her. The redhead grimaced.

She was short on time, It wouldn’t be long until Kaji and her younger self would retire back inside the ship. She glanced at her watch. At best, she had about fifteen minutes. Without wasting another second, she set to work, quickly unrolling her entire tool set and donning a small head lamp.

The minutes crawled by as Asuka methodically cracked each lock, each second passing felt like another nail in her coffin. But, at long last, she heard a click, followed by a soft hissing, and the case popped open. The room was immediately filled with an eerie white light and Asuka squinted at the sudden brightness. She blinked a few times and looked back down. Nestled securely at the center of the briefcase, was a block of dark amber Bakelite containing the real embryonic Adam. Asuka let out a shaky breath and reached into her jacket for her fake decoy.

Her fingers had barely brushed against the hard resin when the door creaked behind her. Asuka froze as light from the hallway flooded into the room. There was the click of a gun and the redhead slowly turned to see Kaji standing in front of the door, with a pistol pointed at her back. His eyes were narrow and his mouth was a thin line. He took one hand off the weapon and closed the door behind him before gesturing to her.

“Who are you?” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaworu and Shinji set out in search of an Eva Unit they can call their own. Asuka sits aboard the naval convoy, waiting patiently for its arrival in Japan. Unbeknownst to any of them, their paths are about to converge on the city at sea. Thrown together by fate after five years apart, the three former pilots will be put to the test immediately as the sixth angel approaches.

Slowly, Asuka raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. 

“How did you know what was in that case?” Kaji asked in a low, suspicious tone. “Who do you really work for?”

Asuka swallowed and took a deep breath. 

“No one.” She answered. “I work for myself.” 

Kaji’s eyes narrowed further. “A single person wouldn’t be able to penetrate the dozens of layers of classification to find out what was being transported, not without the backing of a national government.” He outlined. “Are you German Federal Intelligence?” 

The doctor slowly shook her head.

“I know that you’re on the inside of plans that the average person couldn’t even dream about.” She said. “But, if I told you even the first thing about how I know any of this, you would never believe me.”

The room was silent save for the sound of Asuka’s own breathing. 

“I know about you too, Ryoji Kaji.” She added. “I know that despite working for NERV, SEELE, and the Japanese government, you trust none of them. I know that you are on this ship because you are looking for your own answers, just like I am.” She paused, shifting her head to relive the strain in her neck. “Please, put down the gun, and we can talk this out.” 

She held her breath. Asuka knew that Kaji wasn’t one to take a life so casually, but as a SEELE agent, he had the responsibility of keeping his mission a secret, and she currently represented the largest security breach they knew about. She waited, sweat dripping down her hair as the seconds crawled past.

“Are you armed?” The man behind her finally said. 

Asuka breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yes.” She admitted as a sign of good faith. “In my left jacket pocket.”

Asuka heard footsteps before feeling the muzzle of a pistol pushed into her back. A hand went to her left side, reaching into the jacket and removing her only piece of self defense. The weapon to her spine was pulled away and she heard the sound of both guns being set down on a table. 

Shakily, Asuka planted her hand on the ground and pushed herself up. Kaji stood in front of the door, with both hands empty.

“Alright.” He said as she collected herself. “Now that we’re both on even footing, what do you know about NERV?” 

Asuka squinted her uncovered eye at the special inspector. 

“I can tell you that the American branch is attempting to fit the S2 engine from the fourth angel onto Unit 04, and I know that Units 05 through 13 are being built to a standard design all fitted with the same reverse engineered S2 technology.” 

Kaji slowly nodded. “That’s impressive, but the building of Evangelions isn’t exactly something that can be hidden from national intelligence agencies.”

Asuka couldn’t help but let a small smirk cross her face.

“I know what that thing is.” She pointed at the Adam embryo encased in bakelite. “I know how important the first angel is to SEELE their plans to use it for the human instrumentality project. I know about every angel outlined in their dead sea scrolls, and I know what they are keeping inside the Geofront at the bottom of terminal dogma.”

Kaji’s relaxed expression had disappeared by the time Asuka finished her sentence. His eyes were narrowed again, and his shoulders were held tensely.

“That last one-.....even I don’t have the clearance to access Terminal Dogma.” Kaji quietly said. “Who are you, really?” 

“I’m still Doctor Emalia Richter.” The redhead asserted. “That’s my real name. My real job is professor of metaphysical biology in Berlin, I am just someone who has seen the aftermath of SEELE’s actions and wants to get to the bottom.” It wasn’t a total lie, Asuka still had empty gaps in her understanding about the events of third impact. Specifically about how the Adam embryo had been used to initiate it. But she couldn’t afford to show all her cards this early, there was no documentation in the world that could prove who she really was, and she wasn’t ready to start spouting about a universal time warp, even if it was to Kaji. 

“Alright.” Kaji finally said. “Even so, I can’t let you interrupt the mission to deliver Adam to Tokyo 3.”

“I thought as much.” Asuka responded. “Then what about staying out of each other’s way from here on out? I will leave and you can forget this incident ever happened.” Kaji stroked his chin for a minute before extending his hand. 

“Very well.” He said. “Then let’s get to the bottom of SEELE’s secrets, separately.” 

Asuka put on a thin smile and shook hands. 

“Then, I….I’m sorry for bursting into your cabin and messing up your belongings.” She walked to the door, picking up her own weapon and putting it back in the jacket. She turned to leave and then paused. Reaching into her other pocket, she removed the false Adam and presented it to the special inspector. 

“Here, this was what I was going to replace Adam with.” Kaji cautiously picked up the block and turned it in his hand. “It’s just a microwave emitter wrapped in some living tissue.” She explained. “You can toss it, or if you want to throw a wrench into SEELE’s plans…” she nodded to the open briefcase. “Just make sure to keep it well lit, or the organic parts might start decomposing.” With that, the redhead pushed open the door strode out into the brightly lit corridor. 

…………

Gendo sat at his desk in the massive office at the bottom of the geofront and scowled. The final report for the battle against the fifth angel had finally been finished and its conclusions were not to his liking. Setting aside the destruction of the military’s positron cannon and the immense property damage in excess of all predictions, Gendo’s primary concern had been the behavior of Unit 00 and its pilot during the mission. Shinji disobeying orders was expected, the child was petulant and ignorant to the greater plans, small transgressions could be forgiven. That was why Gendo had not reprimanded the boy for his near suicidal knife attack against the fourth angel. 

But Rei...Rei was far more important. Even though her actions had lead to the successful neutralization of the fifth angel, she had ignored an order by a superior officer, something that deeply troubled the commander of NERV. Immediately after the retrieval of the Unit, he had ordered Ritsuko to conduct a full physical and mental examination of Rei will simultaneously upping the dosage of her medications. Even so, Gendo didn’t think that this defiance was a chemical problem. His mind returned to the reports for the fourth angel. He hadn’t been present for it’s incursion, but a surprise appearance by the AT field anomaly had incapcaited Unit 00 before escaping into the city. Rei had been cleared of any possibility of mental contamination, but Gendo couldn't help but think that her current behavior was caused by that mysterious intruder.

As for said intruder, over the past few days, he had become more convinced that whatever the entity was, it wasn’t an angel, at least not as NERV understood them. While his first conference with SEELE had suggested that they had foreknowledge of an angel that had these abilities, the recent evidence suggested a kind of thinking and planning capability that required the fruit of knowledge. No child of Adam would be capable of such human-like actions.

Going from the information he had now, it seemed more likely that this AT field anomaly was an agent of SEELE, some construct of theirs, designed to test and probe NERV for weaknesses. If that was the case, then that meant the old men were already suspicious that Gendo was no longer following their scenario. The attack on Rei may very well have been an attempt to sabotage the linchpin in his plans. Sitting up straighter, the commander set the report down and contemplated his choices. 

At the current moment, he had no definitive proof that SEELE knew about everything he was planning, and with so many angels yet to show themselves, he had no way to initiate instrumentality early. That left one choice, He would need to begin accumulating his stockpile. If the old men were already turning on him, there would be no telling how soon they would seek to reclaim the Evas. He glanced at the phone. Kaji was enroute with Adam and considering that Lilith was already secure in terminal dogma, Gendo still held the favorable hand. 

However, he knew that SEELE were building their very own Evangelions. The spear of Longinus was a potential force multiplier, but these new units would also be equipped with S2 engines. Even with pilots against dummy plugs, his forces would still be at disadvantage if they had their power supply cut. To secure a victory against the council, Gendo would need to transfer Unit 03 and Unit 04 from America immediately. Unit 04 specifically, was the test bed for mounting an S2 engine to an Evangelion. If he could keep it under NERV’s control, he would have an answer to SEELE’s autonomous army. Nodding to himself in the dark, Gendo opened a drawer and picked up a phone. 

…………

The sweltering midday sun beat down on the port of Sasebo. Shinji removed his cloth cap, wiped his forehead, and squinted into the sun. In the previous timeline, this was supposed to be the day that the pacific fleet was to arrive in Japan. Shinji and Kaworu had figured that Unit 02 would be the best target for them to “borrow.” It would be almost unguarded on this convoy, and they were confident in Kaworu’s ability to take control of it. 

The two had traveled to Sasebo a week earlier and taken up positions as temporary dock workers. The arrival of the fleet was public knowledge and the local government had sent out a call for temporary civilian volunteers in order to restock all the vessels in the massive convoy on time. 

Shinji looked out towards the ocean. The massive super carrier,  _ Over The Rainbow _ had only just docked a few minutes ago, and already, forklifts and harbor cranes were swinging into motion. Besides him, Kaworu walked up and tapped his shoulder. Shinji turned to his partner. 

“We’ve been called up.” The angel said. “Our task is…” He looked down at the crumpled sheet of paper. “To load food and other perishable goods into the galley.” Shinji nodded. The freezers were usually deep inside the ship, that would give them more time to break off and stowaway on the carrier. The volunteer organizing had been hasty and it was likely that two men who missed clocking out wouldn’t be noticed. Shinji nodded and affixed his workman’s cap.

Half an hour later, the pair found themselves wheeling dolly carts of cardboard boxes into the ship’s cold freezer room. Shinji dumped a stack of frozen chicken in a corner and turned to Kaworu. The angel had just finished piling up a bag of frozen vegetables and met his gaze. Silently, the two glanced at the door to the freezer in unison. The hallway was a straight shot down and currently empty. The two turned back to each other, nodded, and bolted out of the cold. Turning down a nearby corridor, they sprinted towards a stairwell and ducked into a corner. 

Panting heavily, they frantically surveyed their surroundings. The section of the ship was empty. Shinji let out a sigh and unclipped a leather bag from his belt. Opening it, Kaworu reached in and pulled out a pair of white button up shirts and NERV caps. A few minutes later, the two walked out of their hiding place, clad in their usual clothes and donning a pair of red berets affixed with the NERV logo. Shinji pulled out a crude map of the carrier from the bag. 

“Alright.” He said, pointing into the stairwell. “It says that NERV personnel have been assigned several cabins on the starboard side, two decks up."

“Go ahead.” Kaworu answered, eyebrows knitting together. Shinji’s face grew concerned and he walked back to his partner. 

“I feel….something.” The silver haired man elaborated. “The sensation...is similar to Lilith, but different.” Shinji blinked. 

“Here, on the ship?” He asked.

“Yes, although it’s quite faint.” Kaworu placed his hands on his knees and took a deep breath. “Apologies, the effort of resisting it has made me a bit nauseous.”

Shinji put a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

“I'm going to be alright.” Kaworu answered. “Go on ahead of me, I’ll catch up in a short while.” He gave Shinji a gentle smile. 

The former pilot returned the smile before tentatively walking back and starting up the stairwell. As soon as Kaworu was out of view, Shinji’s face grew dark with concern again.  _ The feeling of Lilith? What could be causing that? They were hundreds of kilometers from Tokyo 3, Gaghiel wasn’t due to attack until tomorrow, there was nothing in the entire fleet except for Unit 02, which was in a dormant state. Had something changed? Was the timeline no longer accurate? Or had SEELE installed something onboard the ship in the original timeline as well?  _

Pondering these anxieties, Shinji stepped onto the landing of the second deck and turned into the hallway. Distracted by his thoughts, the former pilot wasn’t paying attention as he rounded the corner and nearly plowed right into the redhead hurrying down the hallway. 

Shinji jumped back, bracing himself against the railing. The woman readjusted her black felt cap and straightened her jacket. Shinji began to apologize for the collision before he saw her face. Recognition flashed through his mind, the bright blue eye, furrowed brows, and locks of fiery hair. His mind spun, it was impossible, it couldn’t be! But an iron grip had already clenched on his shoulder.

…………

Asuka Langley Soryu was having a pretty rough week. The many long days at sea had sapped her of the initial enthusiasm she had for the mission, and the confrontation with Kaji had reminded her that SEELE were not easy foes. Despite pulling into harbor in Japan, the specific agreements of her research trip only allowed her to disembark at New Yokosuka and head for Tokyo 3. She had spent most of the morning brooding her cramped cabin, looking over notes and documents on her bulky laptop. As the sun rose higher and noon approached, Asuka had decided to go up to the flight deck and get some fresh air before grabbing lunch. She had barely made it out of her room, and down the first hallway, before a distracted NERV technician had almost run her over on the stairwell. 

Asuka shook her head, eyes scowling.  _ Great, now this… _ She thought. 

The man had stumbled back onto the landing and was slowly propping himself up. Asuka glanced up as she fixed her hat. He was lanky and quite young, even for a junior technician. He wore a strangely familiar dress shirt and his hair fell down across his forehead several clumps. Then the man looked up and a pair of dark blue eyes met hers, eyes that she had glared into a hundred times, eyes that she could never forget. A thousand thoughts and questions exploded in Asuka’s mind, but her combat training kicked in first, and before she knew it, her left hand had grabbed the man’s shoulder and pulled him into a choke hold. Asuka blinked, finding her right elbow wrapped around the man’s neck and her back pressed against the wall.

“Y-YOU!!” She sputtered in shock.

“A..A-suka!” The man choked out. Her eyes widened.  _ He said her name! It was him! _ She relaxed her forearm pressure, causing the man to take in a sudden breath. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” She hissed. 

“Shinji! Are you there?” A strangely soothing voice echoed up from the stairwell. Asuka cursed herself silently.  _ Of course! All that stuff she had seen on the news! It wasn’t possible that Ikari had done it alone, He must have had a partner!  _ Her eyes darted to the open door of the stairwell. Her mind raced as the footsteps on the stairs got louder and another figure rounded the corner. The stranger was a tall man, taller than Shinji, with a head of long silver hair. He wore a white button up, a red NERV beret similar to Shinji’s and the same long back pants. His eyes widened upon seeing Asuka and he slowly backed away to the end of the landing. 

“I’m not going to hurt you, but please release Shinji.” He said in a calming voice. Asuka squinted. Underneath that mop of hair, his eyes were a bright crimson, just like Ayanami’s…

“We did not come here to hurt you.” The strange man continued. “We can work this out, peacefully.” Asuka stared at him, freezing for a second. Then she felt Shinji’s hand weakly slide down her face, imitating the action she had done so many years ago. A sign of peace and a request for mercy between the two souls. 

Asuka released her grip and stepped back, Shinji stumbled forward, coughing and rubbing his neck, his strange pale companion catching him. The redhead slipped a hand into her pocket, fingers wrapping around the grip of her pistol. This was still a tense situation. She had set out on this voyage to potentially find Shinji hiding somewhere in Tokyo 3, but now he had found her. _ Was it possible that he knew everything she was planning? Had he and his friend traced out every one of her steps just to catch her in their net? Had her years of work and planning been outdone by Shinji Ikari yet again?  _ For a split second, anger flared in her heart at the thought of old wounds and insults. Asuka breathed heavily out of her nose and let the rage pass.  _ No, those things were behind her, pride would only hurt her. _ She looked more closely at the pair, as Shinji stood back up, coughing one last time into his elbow. Judging by how surprised the two of them had been, It was far more likely that their reunion was a coincidence. Relaxing, she let go of her weapon and pulled her hand from her pocket. 

“So.” She gestured to Shinji. “What are you doing here, and who is that?” Shinji cautiously turned to his partner. 

“Hello, I am Kaworu Nagisa, I don’t believe we’ve met.” He extended pale hand. “I was the fifth child, brought over to pilot Unit 02 after you were injured in battle.” 

“Injured, that’s putting it mildly.” Asuka remarked as she shook his hand. Pulling back, the redhead thought back to the last few days before Third Impact. The amount of time she was actually conscious had nosedived in the final week (which might have been a blessing considering what she saw of Shinji during instrumentality) However, she had heard vague fragments and stories from the nurses about the supposed fifth child, someone who was already dead by the time SEELE launched their final assault. 

“Wait.” She said, eyes narrowing. “The Fifth, weren’t you an angel? Didn’t Shinji kill you?” 

The brown haired man quickly stepped in front of his companion, as if shielding him from Asuka’s accusations.

“It….It’s really complicated.” Shinji explained awkwardly. “But, uh he’s on our side now.” 

Asuka crossed her arms. 

“Our side, third? We haven’t communicated in five years since time stopped functioning, you couldn’t possibly know what side I’m on.” She took another glance at the pair, Shinji standing defensively in front of the stranger like he was some treasure that had to be protected.

“Besides, I didn’t think you were the type to be sleeping with the enemy.” Asuka joked.

Shinji pulled back, his face suddenly becoming redder than Asuka’s hair. 

Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open in shock.

“No, don’t tell me…” 

This time, it was the silver haired man who stepped forward, putting himself between a blushing Shinji and the redhead.

“Shinji is my significant other.” He said confidently. “We have been living and working together for the past five years in order to stop third impact from happening again.” 

Asuka blinked. Shinji Ikari, the third child, that stupid pervert, had traveled back in time and fallen in love with a boy, and not just a human boy, but an angel from beyond the stars. 

“‘Our side’ is trying to stop SEELE from carrying out their plans and protecting our younger selves from the angels.” The silver haired man continued. 

Asuka blinked and rubbed the bridge of her nose. 

“I think I need to sit down.” She muttered under her breath. She looked up and stared at the pair intently. “Tell me everything in the mess hall.”

An hour later Asuka was sitting at a small table, half playing with her food, listening to Shinji recount the strange story of how he and Kaworu ended up running through the geofront, being chased by Unit 00. Kaworu apparently had all the powers of an angel, since they escaped by using some kind of mental attack on Rei, something that didn’t sit too well with Asuka. The redhead leaned back as the two men finished their weird and convoluted tale. She let out a sigh. 

“Well, I certainly didn’t expect that you two would have made such a mess in Tokyo 3, to get the slip on NERV three different times…” She let out a dry laugh. 

“However.” She continued. “That still doesn’t explain why you two are here, on this ship right now.” Shinji leaned forward,and fidgeted under the table. 

“Well, it’s….we were looking to find something.” Shinji admitted awkwardly. Asuka narrowed his eyes. 

“Angel boy, what is Shinji talking about?” She barked at Kaworu.

The silver haired man took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“We did not want to antagonize you, but we were planning on commandeering Unit 02 for ourselves.” Asuka blinked, then threw back her head and laughed. 

Shinji and Kaworu stared at her with confused faces. Gradually Asuka recollected herself and turned back to face the pair sitting across from her. 

“I already thought about that months ago.” She said. “I’ve analyzed the situation, and it's not possible, there is no way you get an Evangelion out of this convoy without SEELE sending every military on the planet after you. Trust me, there’s no way you two idiots could pull it off better.” 

Shinji pursed his lips, seeming to accept the setback, then an inquisitive look came over his face.

“What are you planning then, Asuka?” She paused. The Shinji she remembered wasn’t this pragmatic, he didn’t have the resilience to shrug off her comments that quickly and focus on the matter at hand. 

“Well,” Asuka replied, “After your incident during the fourth angel’s attack, I got myself on a joint research mission with NERV at the Geofront. I was planning on finding you and monitoring your activities,” She pointed at Shinji. “But you two found me instead.” 

Kaworu rubbed his chin. 

“A research mission to NERV? How did you manage the credentials for that?” The angel asked quizzically. A glimmer appeared in Asuka’s eye and she flashed a characteristic smile.

“Oh, I didn’t just ‘manage’ the credentials, I am the top metaphysical biology professor in the world!” She said, whipping out her provision ID. Shinji leaned in and squinted. 

“Ee-ma-lee-a Ri-k-t-er?” He sounded out. “A pseudonym...that’s actually really smart…”

Asuka blinked in surprise, partially from the revelations that the pair had been using their real names and partially from the fact that Shinji gave her a compliment. 

“D-Don’t tell me you two have been using your real names this whole time!?” She harshly whispered.

“Ummm, yeah…” Shinji trailed off. “We didn’t think NERV would be looking too closely at local corner shop employees…”

Asuka opened her mouth to object, then closed it. As much as she hated to admit it, Shinji and his new boyfriend had done a better job of getting low profile jobs. In truth SEELE probably wouldn’t waste their time checking through the payrolls of small stores trying to find time travelers. 

“Well….still….that certainly wasn’t smart!” She huffed. 

“Unhmmmm.” Kaworu groaned as he put a hand over his eyes. 

Shinji turned to his partner with concern and caressed his shoulder.  _ So, they really are together… _ Asuka thought. 

The way Shinji had instantly moved over in concern laid bare the deep care the two had for each other. A realization suddenly washed over Asuka. Of course they were so close, they had probably spent the last half decade developing their relationship. In the time she had devoted to studying, researching and becoming the greatest scientist in her field, they had spent their time on...each other. The redhead felt a spreading chill in the pit of her stomach.  _ She had spent these past years pursuing power, talent, and skill while shunning all human connections, the exact same thing she had done as an Eva pilot.  _ Asuka nervously swallowed and tried to push the thought aside. __

“I...I feel it again.” The silver haired man said. “It’s the same energy signature I felt earlier, it’s faint but familiar.” 

“What’s happening to him?” Asuka asked. “Does he do that a lot?” 

“No, only when we were close to Lilith in the Geofront…”Shinji answered. “But that’s hundreds of miles away and the next angel isn’t until tomorrow, we’re not sure what else could be onboard.” 

Asuka’s eyes went wide. 

“I...I know what it is.” She said, her voice suddenly subdued. Shinji turned to her expectantly. The redhead glanced around the mess hall. Kaji was nowhere in sight, but several other NERV employees were scattered at various tables around them. “Come to my cabin.” She said in a low voice. “It’s not safe to discuss that here.”

After quickly stashing their trays, Asuka hurriedly led the pair back through the maze of hallways and stairs until they reached her cabin. Opening the door, the redhead almost shoved Shinji and Kaworu into the room before slamming the door after her. There was some fumbling in the dark before the lock clicked and a light came on. The pair blinked, dazed and disoriented as Asuka surveyed her room, making sure that nothing was out of place. 

“Asuka…” Shinji said apprehensively. “You said you knew what Kaworu was sensing…” 

The doctor stopped her rummaging and turned back.

“Yes…” She breathed. “You’re right….” Walking calmly over to the desk, she opened a drawer and removed a sheet of paper. Bringing it up into the light, she pointed harshly at the small picture of an orange block nestled against a bright backlight. 

“This is what SEELE actually tasked Kaji with transporting to Japan. Unit 02, you, me, we were all just unwitting escorts for this thing.” Shinji and Kaworu leaned in, squinting for a better look, then the angel’s eyes went wide in shock.

“No….” Kaworu trailed off. “That’s Adam.” He slowly looked around. “No wonder it felt so similar to Lilith...The remains of Adam are aboard this vessel right now.” 

“Yup.” Asuka remarked, lowering the piece of paper. “It’s actually stuffed in a trunk in Kaji’s room which is five doors down that way.” She pointed at a wall. “And yes, I already tried to swap it out for a fake. Unfortunately, the special inspector was more attentive than I anticipated, there’s no way you two are getting it either.” Shinji’s eye narrowed further and he sat back on his bed. 

“Adam...that’s the first angel...so this is how it got to NERV HQ.” he paused, then looked up at Kaworu. “Wait, you...you have the soul of Adam, so that thing is-” 

“Yes.” Kaworu nodded. “Adam is what you could call my body from a previous life.” He slowly walked over to the desk and re-examined the picture. “I can’t believe that SEELE was still able to retrieve it intact after all the destruction of the second impact.” Asuka turned to look at him.

“A previous life, you’re basically the same as Ayanami aren’t you?” The redhead pressed.

“Yes.” Kaworu replied. “We were both given our current forms as part of SEELE’s larger designs.” Asuka’s eye drifted to the thin white scar on her hand.

“Yeah.” She swallowed, memories of her final stand flashing through her mind. “Given to us….” She shook herself out of her stupor and refocused back on them. 

“Anyways,” She cleared her throat. “That’s basically where I am right now, You two can’t get Unit 02, I can’t get off until tomorrow, and none of us can get Adam.” 

Shinji tapped his foot quickly and stared at the floor. 

“So.” He started. “What happens now?” 

“Now we wait.” Asuka answered. “Judging by everything we’ve established, no one is going to accomplish anything on this ship. We’re going to have to wait until getting to Tokyo 3 before making any more moves.” Asuka pulled a thick blanket off of her bed.

“Seeing as you two are stowaways, and I’m feeling generous today, I’ve decided to provide you with some accommodations until we disembark tomorrow. “ She gave them a sarcastic, exaggerated smile and dropped the quilt on the floor. “Of course, we’ll have to find some way to survive the angel attack tomorrow.”

Asuka walked to the door and unlocked it. “I’m going for a walk on the flight deck to clear my head, feel free to join me, or not. Just don’t get freaky over my research materials.” Then she shut the door, leaving the pair alone in the cabin. 

…………   
  


Shinji stared up at the darkened ceiling cabin and felt Kaworu toss besides him. Despite the quilt, he still felt the hard floor press against his shoulder blades. The rest of the day had passed in a blur. He and Kaworu spent some time alone on the flight deck, collecting their thoughts. Asuka had retreated back into silence after her own stroll, Shinji instantly recognizing the cold stare she gave him. Something was occupying her mind, something that injured her pride. She was at her desk late into the night, pouring over binders full of documents and typing away on her computer. Then, way past midnight, she had turned off the lights and retired to her small bed without another word. 

Kaworu fell asleep quickly as soon as the lights were out, the angel always seemed to be well rested no matter what circumstances he was in. Shinji on the other hand, still had substantial issues with unfamiliar ceilings.  _ Asuka is alive, she’s here, she’s really here. _ The thought played over and over again in his mind. It was crazy, it seemed impossible. But then again so were Kaworu and himself showing up back in 2010. Shinji’s heart beat heavily in his chest. He and Asuka, living together at Misato’s palace. Before today, that all seemed like many lifetimes ago, a barely remembered dream. Which was why Shinji was surprised by how easily they had slipped back into old conversational styles. Despite this seeming return to form, he could feel the tension running deep. All those things that he had done, did she forgive him? Did she even care what he had been doing? She was a professor now, the top of her field in the entire world, just like she had always boasted. She had used her five years wisely, planning and strategically gathering resources to overthrow SEELE. She had an entire trunk full of data to prove that. She had infiltrated NERV, gotten permission to sail across the world and enter into the belly of the beast, all without suspicion. 

Shinji turned his head towards his sleeping partner. Meanwhile, he and Kaworu had been working low end jobs for the past half decade. Their planning, which had seemed sophisticated, now paled in comparison, and they had been discovered the moment they set foot in the geofront. Did their efforts even mean anything, or were they just holding Asuka back? 

He had asked these questions five years ago as well, comparing himself to Asuka and trying to discover her “true” intentions. But back then he had been too preoccupied with his own performance in the Eva to realize Asuka’s own needs and vulnerabilities.  _ She’s lonely, just like me. _ Shinji remembered when he first realized that all those years ago. In that moment he had seen a glimpse of comradeship, a hint of their true similarities behind their very different facades. But now…

With effort, Shinji slowly moved his head to look at Asuka sleeping on the bed above him. Squinting through the gloom, he could barely make out the dark outline of her jacket, wrapped tightly around her. Her face was turned away. Shinji let out a very soft sigh. 

Now, five years later, he didn’t know if those similarities were still there. Despite acting similarly to the girl he once knew, there was a possibility that this Asuka had changed into a wholly different person. Flipping back, Shinji squeezed his eyes shut and tried to force all the worries from his mind. Slowly, the images fell away, peeling from his mind and drifting away on the sea until there was only one left. Shinji squeezed his eyelids tighter and shook his head, but the final worry would not dislodge itself from his mind. Try as he might to deny it, the assertion was true.

After all these years, he still found Asuka attractive. It wasn’t like love at first sight, or anything sudden. But throughout the day, he had found himself staring at her face, listening intently to her voice. It wasn’t physical either. That drive she had, her fiery soul and radiant confidence were still there. Once again, Shinji didn’t know how much of that behavior was genuine or a mask, or whether Asuka felt even a fraction of what he felt for her, but even if his feelings were not reciprocated, he couldn’t just lie to himself that they weren’t real. 

Neither could he lie to himself about the implication of those feelings: Kaworu. Shinji felt a cold stone of guilt crystallize in his gut.  _ Was he betraying his boyfriend?  _ Images flashed across his mind. The afternoon on lake Ashi, The night in the NERV HQ, The red ocean at the end of the world, a small cramped apartment back in Tokyo 3. Shinji’s eyes snapped open to see Kaworu’s face turned towards him, eyes closed peacefully, breathing deeply, and lips curved into a gentle smile. Shinji’s heart thumped louder at the sight. 

He loved Kaworu, he knew that much. Despite his renewed feelings for Asuka, his affections for his partner hadn’t dimmed. Kaworu was still amazing, and kind, and beautiful, and understanding, and all the other things he could ever want in a boyfriend. Shinji was still willing to give up anything, even himself in order to protect his partner’s life. Yet, none of these reassurances made his feelings for Asuka go away. Sighing awkwardly, Shinji carefully placed his arms around Kaworu and closed his eyes again. The last concern was still wedged in his mind the fuzziness of sleep overtook him.

…………

Kaworu squinted his eyes, stepping out into the bright midday light. It was Sunday, the day they were due to arrive at New Yokosuka, and the day Gaghiel would attack. Shinji was already on the flight deck, although he was keeping close to the command island, cautiously avoiding the sailors. Striding out of the shade, Kaworul looked back towards the bridge. Standing up top, he could see a small figure in a billowing dress, gripping on the railing. The small radio in his pocket chirped. 

“Any visual on Misato’s helicopter?” Asuka’s voice crackled through the small speaker. 

“Negative.” He responded quietly. Asuka swore quietly. Kaworu felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Shinji. The brown haired man gestured for the radio with a look of concern. Nodding Kaworu quickly handed it over. 

“Couldn’t you ask someone about it? You are technically a NERV consultant.” He said.

Kaworu couldn’t make out the redhead’s response, but he did hear quite a loud sigh. After a second, Shinji handed the receiver back. 

“The captain.” Shinji reported. “Asuka said he would probably know, but she wasn’t sure if asking him was the best idea.” Kaworu raised an eyebrow.

“He....wasn’t the most cooperative with NERV last time.” Shinji explained to his partner. 

“He and Misato got into a fight or two about who had jurisdiction on the ocean.” The angel nodded in acknowledgement.

“Don’t worry Asuka.” He reassured through the radio. “There is nothing to suggest that this event has been altered.” Asuka hmmped.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought about the third and fourth angels as well, until you two threw the timeline out the window.” There was an awkward pause. “Just, keep an eye out.” Asuka continued, her voice less irritated. 

Kaworu stole a glance at Shinji and saw that his partner was carefully squinting at a group of sailors on deck. Slowly, Shinji raised an arm and gestured to them. 

“I think we have some confirmation.” He said slowly. “I remember Kensuke talking about carrier flight deck procedures for weeks after the trip, and he said something about helicopter landings, and I think that’s what he was talking about.” Kaworu gave him a smile and raised the radio. 

“We are seeing some flight deck procedures that are indicative of a helicopter landing.” He reported. “Misato’s aircraft may be close.” 

“I’ll be out in a second.” Asuka replied. Then, a few moments later, Kaworu heard the clang of a metal door opening and looked back up. The older Asuka rushed out onto the bridge terrace, her left hand tightly holding onto her black cap. As Kaworu watched, she took up a spot next to the girl in the sundress and proceeded to pull out a sleek telescope. Bringing it to her eye, she held it there for a minute, slowly scanning the horizon, then pausing on a patch of sky right off the starboard bow. 

Kaworu followed her gaze and squinted into the distance, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes from the glare. Far in the distance, against the expansive blue sky, he could see a small dot that was slowly getting bigger. The radio chirped again.

“I see it.” Asuka’s voice betrayed a hint of triumph. “They’re here.” 

A few minutes later, the chopping of propellor blades drowned out all the on deck activities as the large yellow transport touched down. Kaworu and Shinji quickly headed into the command tower before descending to the lower decks. While Asuka had an alias and a disguise, Shinji’s outfit consisted of his usual dress shirt, pants and a red NERV beret. Being recognized by his younger self was a real risk and so the pair had retreated to the lower decks, where they knew that Misato’s group wouldn’t be going. Asuka had agreed to meet them in the halls adjacent to the turbines to discuss their survival plan. And so, after winding down several doen corridors, the pair slumped themselves down in a narrow passageway, pressed against the outer hull. 

“How are you holding up?” Kaworu asked after a long silence. 

“Nervous.” Shinji replied quietly. “Sitting inside a giant metal box, knowing that the next angel is coming.” 

“Nowhere to run.” Kaworu observed bitterly. He had heard about the battle against Gaghiel while still living under SEELE’s watch in Germany. From those reports, as well as what Shinji had told him, this battle had been especially messy, quickly devolving into a ship hopping brawl before becoming some weird parody of fishing. Shinji and Asuka had performed a double synchronization before the angel had been finally destroyed by two detonating battleships. With so many variables involved, even the slightest difference could mean a completely different sequence, even if the three of them hadn’t tried to alter events on purpose. Looking back to Shinji, Kaworu put his smile back on and crouched down next to his boyfriend. 

“It will be alright.” He comforted Shinji. “I’ll be here to protect you.” 

Shinji pursed his lips. “It’s not us I’m worried about...I’m worried for the children.”

Kaworu nodded. “ I think your younger self will be okay, Misato will keep her charges safe.” 

“I know.” Shinji responded. “But after what happened with Rei…” 

There was a long awkward pause. Recollections of the fated day in the geofront passed through Kaworu’s mind. 

“I’m sorry for doing what I did to her.” Kaworu replied, his voice quieter. “We won’t be directly interacting with anyone today, so the children will be safe from us at least.” 

Shinji thought about it for a second and stared down at the dark floor.

“Hey! Are you two idiots just gonna spend all day on the ground?!” A sharp call turned both heads to the end of the hallway. Illuminated by the aging overhead lights, Asuka stood, hands in her jacket pocket, with several large rolls of paper tucked under her arm.

Shinji and Kaworu stood as the redhead unrolled several carrier blueprints onto the floor. 

Clicking on a flashlight, Asuka leaned over the large plans and pointed at the numerous annotations and arrows. 

“So, the flight deck will be completely off limits.” She jabbed at the giant “X” marked on the top of the plans. “But just staying in the lower portions of the ship won’t be enough either, with all the combat going on, there will be a lot of listing and potential underwater damage. If we go by the order of events that happened last time, then this is what we have to do.”

She moved aside the chart to reveal another one, this time a thick red line was traced through the numerous bulkheads and compartments. Kaworu stared at the complex path for a second, before his attention was suddenly pulled away. Something at the back of his mind, a small sensation that he hadn’t expected to feel. He narrowed his eyes. Asuka had started to speak again but Shinji was already turning.

“What is it?” His partner asked, instantly aware of Kaworu’s discomfort. Asuka looked up with an exasperated expression. 

“I…..” Kaworu paused, feeling the impression suddenly shift, the presence moving.

“It’s Gaghiel.” He said. “Gaghiel is close.”

Asuka sighed. “All the more reason to listen!” She yelled. “We don’t have much time left until the battle starts!”

Kaworu slowly shook his head as he concentrated on Gaghiel’s AT field. His eyes narrowed. 

“No, it-” He started, before the alarms balred to life. 

“ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!” The captain’s gruff voice yelled over the speakers. “UNIDENTIFIED UNDERWATER OBJECT HAS ENTERED THE FLEET SCREEN!” 

No sooner had he said that, did a massive crash hit the ship, ringing the gigantic hull like a bell. The three froze, exchanging shocked glances at each other. 

Then the side of the ship was ripped open and the entire ocean rushed into the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3/11/2021 update: Fic is NOT abandoned, just been swamped by classes lately, also anxiously awaiting the international release of the final rebuild movie. I don't have a date for the next chapter, but I haven't forgotten this fic.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back with something new and not a crossover! Given all the time travel fix it fics that have popped up over the years, It was my time to give the format a whirl. The throuple is a bit of an unconventional ship, but I have some cute/fun interactions planned for them. This fic probably won't be updated as frequently as my last one, as writing that fast kinda burnt me out, but I will nonetheless try to finish it without any hiatuses that are too long. 
> 
> 12/12/2020 update: Oops forgot to mark this as multi-chapter.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


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